


Change Your Mind

by IDoNotSleep



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fix-It, Isekai OC, Listen the Orochimaru tag will make sense, M/M, Mine now, Nice sandbox, Original Character(s), Other lands and villages need more love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:21:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 28,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25703521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IDoNotSleep/pseuds/IDoNotSleep
Summary: A story of an Isekai'd girl in a podunk village going off on her own adventure. Maybe between the fights and changing the world she can find her new place among ninjas.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka/Original Female Character(s), Maito Gai | Might Guy/Original Male Character(s), Orochimaru (Naruto)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 27
Kudos: 38





	1. First Position

**Author's Note:**

> Well here we go again...  
> Shout-out to the Melody From Another World server and the lovely folks in it who told me "you know that dream you had? turn it into an isekai" AND I DID  
> Enjoy

Apparently, snowballs had a lot more force behind them than I had initially thought. Or it was an ice ball. Considering who I was, I’d gamble an ice ball. Either way, the force of the hit sent me backwards into the snow and for the briefest moment, I felt nothing.

But then I remembered. Everything. I remembered knowing this world from an outsider’s perspective, watching characters grow into adults and fight against the world and change the system. I recalled all of this, through my own eyes, and that I was once someone who loved the story as much as any other kid. This world belonged to a manga artist, and here I was laying in snow in a land he created, far from the protagonists and the action.

As much as I wanted to reel in this new yet old information rushed back into me, I had something more serious to deal with. Specifically, that would be the man shouting at the kids who threw my snowball of destiny.

“How dare you attack the beloved princess of the Hanayuki clan!” Pengi screeched. I only knew it was a screech since he was way too close, kneeling beside me. I pushed myself up onto my butt and hands, praying he wouldn’t start shouting again. “You three will be punished for what you have done! If she is injured or scarred from this you will be paying with your--”

“Pengi!” I snapped. The round, black haired man stuttered around whatever he planned on saying next. Faintly I recalled a great detest for him, from his need to screech and shout about anything to his constantly puffed chest to his obnoxious loyalty. I glared at him once my ears stopped ringing. “They’re kids. Shut the hell up for once.”

He gulped. “M-milady, but your injury...”

“It’s a snowball. Shut it.”

“But--”

“Pengi!” Said man whimpered like a child and glanced away,

I shook my head again and pushed myself up to my feet. It was then I finally could see the three little ones in front of me. All three looked no more than ten, just little rugrats bundled up in fluffy coats and gloves and nervous eyes. I sighed; scaring kids for being irresponsible isn’t my thing. I brushed off the snow on my butt and legs as I spoke.

“Hey, which one of you threw the snowball?”

All three shrank into each other even more.

“I promise, I’m not mad. Who threw it?”

They stayed silent a minute more. 

“My lady is so forgiving, only wishing for the perpetrator to be punished!” Pengi was up beside me in that minute, turning into a ball of what must have been rage. “Speak! Hanayuki Aoi is asking you a question!”

“Pengi,” I snapped, “if you don’t shut your mouth I’m throwing you in the snow next!”

“We need to know who threw the snowball, milady!” he yelped. “We need to--”

“We don’t need to do a damn thing, Pengi!”

“It was me!” Both of us turned back to the kids. The tallest of them, a young boy with dark blue locks, stepped in front of his friends. His face was screwed up in a frown and his little hands shook in their fists. Even his heavy scarf hiding his little face couldn’t disguise the fear in his eyes. “It was me. I threw the snowball.”

Penji straightened up, which just made him look more like a confident penguin. “How noble of you. Now you will be coming with us so the clan head can--”

“I’m impressed.”

The nuisance beside me cracked his head looking back at me. “M-Milady? Are you alright?”

“Just lovely, Pengi.” I gave him as evil a smile I could offer him, then dropped it once I turned back to the kid. “You’ve got good aim. From your little nest, that’s what, three meters? And you got me in the forehead.”

He gulped.

“Are you in the academy?” The kid nodded again. “Keep up throwing things. Maybe you should pick up more throwing weapons in the future?”

“Milady--”

I whipped my hand out and smacked it over Pengi’s mouth. His chattering was starting to annoy me more than usual. “Next time you wanna throw snowballs with me, lemme know first. I’d love to see who can throw better.”

The kid watched me for a moment. Confusion and fear played but quickly turned into joy and relief. He scurried off to his friends, laughing in delight and kicking up snow. My own heart softened at the sweet sight.

Then I heard muffled sounds. Oops, forgot to take my hand off of Pengi’s mouth. I dropped it and was treated to his coughs and gasps. Once he was done pulling new air into his lungs, he stood tall again and turned back to me, as though he intended to scold me.

I was already several feet away, worried about what I found myself in and ignoring the man’s calls.

The Hanayuki compound hid itself within conifer trees, mounds of pure white snow, and a giant, four foot stone fence. Pengi tried to kneel and take off my shoes, but I was in too much a rush to care about appeasing him. I kicked said sandals off and hustled as much as I could. Between the hardwood flooring polished to reflection and the socks on my feet, running was a task I simply couldn’t complete. All I could get out of myself was a hurried shuffle to a room I knew to be mine and mine alone.The only place in the blasted compound I could think of that would work was my own room. Aohime, apparently, liked having mirrors in the way too massive a room she called her own. One wall was lined with them! While most would absolutely consider it vain, it helped me get a proper look at myself. 

Blue hair and bright blue eyes. How typical of an anime gal. It was even cut with straight bangs and down my back. I gave it a little tug, revealing how sensitive my new scalp was. I ruffled it a little to shake off my current terror. That wouldn’t do; I needed to see exactly who this Hanayuki Aohime was.

My new body, hidden under a heavy dark blue kimono, was lanky and lithe. When I pushed the sleeves up on my shoulders, slender pale arms greeted me. Even pinching the fat on my upper arm revealed only two fingers width. I tried sucking in a deep breath; that didn’t result in much, and dizziness almost caught me as it wooshed out. Shaking it off, I bounced on my legs--long and thin. She clearly wasn’t one for exercise or working, it seemed. Even my feet felt  _ delicate  _ in a way. No calluses, no muscle, no strain at all. I even tried to push up onto my toes en pointe and my calves ached less than a minute into the position.

This was literally the worst. I dropped to my knees and, in a moment of clarity, grabbed a pillow, and promptly screamed into it. Once I ran out of breath, I did it again. And again. Only when I was panting and too winded to continue screaming did I stop. A decade of ballet, pointe, tap, yoga, and cardio, straight down the drain! All my performances, auditions, my internships and my understudies! Gone! Anger and frustration boiled in me again so I grabbed the pillow once more to scream into it, higher and harder than before.

I knew, however, screaming wouldn’t do anything to help me. The pillow plopped on my thighs and I caught my furious breath again. My thoughts came back to me as I pulled off the heavy, almost suffocating kimono. It was a relief, knowing I still had my memories of my past self, of the woman I was, and now could utilize them in this new life. This life in a manga I read when I was still in middle school.

I was in a village in the famous  _ Naruto  _ series. From the headband I saw on Pengi, this was in the Land of Water, and the Village Hidden in the Ice Caps--Hyobogakure? It would make sense, considering I was lobbed at with an ice ball. Absently, I felt the bruise on my forehead. That kid really knocked me out with it... and quite possibly killed Aohime with it.

“Aoi?” a gentle voice called. I froze, brain registering the tone and softness and recognized it. Carefully I looked up to my mother, a willowy woman with my own blue hair tied off in a bun. Concern painted his features as she came into my room and knelt beside me. “Aoi, what’s wrong? I heard some loud noises... Are you alright sweetheart?”

Mama. Aoi called her Mama. She adored this woman, this tender and forgiving woman who doted on her spoiled child and her husband. Fond memories of that name smacked me in the face, from hugs as a child over bruised knees to the glee of becoming a ninja, if only in name. Tears bubbled in my eyes as I realized she was calling Aoi sweetheart, not this stranger now possessing her body. I had taken possession of her form, taken over this girl’s life, and I had been complaining about taking over such a weak form. “Mama,” I whispered, just wanting to say  _ something. _

Worry consumed her expression. Aoi’s mother cradled my face--Aoi’s face--and pressed kisses to both of her--my--cheeks. I flung my arms around her, shaking and whimpering in panic. Her own wrapped around me, and as she held me to her, memories came back to me in a headache inducing rush.

_ Once upon a time, there was a girl born to a powerful family. She was a beautiful child from birth and her parents held high hopes for her and her future. When she was 100 days old, they took her to the seer of their clan to ask about her future.  _

_ The seer replied: _

_ “Deep within this child is a power, a great and unfathomable power. It is a power beyond my own understanding and, if nurtured and tended to correctly, could easily change not only our village but the entirety of the Land of Water and the world as a whole. But there is a problem. She will not be able to access this power on her own. It will lay in wait deep inside her, waiting for its awakening. And that is all I can say.” _

_ While disappointed by this prophecy, the girl’s parents decided the best course of action was to ensure their daughter’s future. After detailing the prophecy to the clan head, they arranged a marriage with his son. All they asked was to wait until she was older to go through with the marriage and, should her power awaken before her marriage, allow their daughter the choice in the marriage. The head agreed to the terms and they signed an agreement with those terms. _

_ The parents named their child Aohime, for she was the blue princess of their clan until she decided she was not. _

I sat there, blanket wrapped around my shoulders and a steaming cup of tea in my hands. My fingers slightly burned on the cup but I couldn’t bring myself to care. The warmth grounded me to the world and kept me from daring to think this was a nightmare still. Before me were my parents, two older folks with worried eyes and frowns as they watched me sip my drink. My mother, still in her cooking apron and hair tied off, gently held the hand of my father. He was graying, the edges of his black hair dulling in color and his pointed beard less black and more white. He, too, wore his face in a worried frown.

His eyes were too intense so I looked into my cup. The blue haired maiden stared back at me, and my brain helpfully reminded me that was, indeed, me.

“Aoi,” he called, dragging me from my thoughts, “did something happen to cause this?”

Aside from me randomly getting thrown into the world of a comic I read as a kid? “Nothing in particular,” I lied softly. 

“Where did that bruise come from?”

“Nowhere?” His silent look forced me from my lie and I admitted, “I met some academy kids today. They were playing.”

My mother smiled. “I suppose they were having a snowball fight.”

“They were.”

“And one of them hit you in the head?” I jolted up to look at them properly. My mother hid her giggle behind a hand and my father chuckled. “It’s alright, Pengi told us what happened. He was rather upset about everything.”

I sighed. “Pengi gets upset about almost everything.”

“That is fair,” my father conceded. Once again, though, he looked me over, like he wasn’t sure what to think. I couldn’t hold his stare too long. As I sipped my tea again, he asked, “Did seeing them change something?”

Oh. I placed my teacup on the mat in front of me. Yes, it changed everything in me. And it changed their daughter in a very violent, disastrous way. Their daughter, the one they cherished so deeply, was no more. But I couldn’t tell them that. Instead, I took a deep breath, straightened my back, and said, “I think it’s time for me to stop being so selfish and start being a better ninja.”

My father’s eyes softened at me. I expected him to say “I’m relieved” or “Put all your effort into it”. What came out of him was, “We don’t expect you to be a good ninja, dear.”

I blinked owlishly at him, just as my mother agreed, “We made sure you’re set for life, so if being a ninja doesn’t work, then you have your marriage.”

That statement made me gape. “I don’t understand. I’m already a ninja; why do you think I became one in the first place? Because I was bored?”

“Well, yes.” That stung, coming from him. “It’s why we assigned guards to you instead of teammates.”

..Wait. Memories rushed into my head again and I placed a hand on my scorching forehead. I recalled why I was out with Pengi, in the snow. I was on my way to meet up with my ‘teammates’, my guards, and here I was instead trying to convince my parents I was going to change!

“I need to go right now!” I yelped, abandoning my tea and hopping to my feet. My parents rose too, both reaching out to stop me.

“Settle down my dear!” my father insisted. “They will wait for you if you need time to get set before you go.”

I felt myself puff up in an irritation hitch. “They’ve been waiting for me! I’m obviously very late and I need to apologize.”

Before they could object further, I hauled it out of the house and back into the snow.

Running through snow is a lot like running through sand--a pain in the ass. And when I say a pain in the ass, I mean hauling through what must have been six inches in a dress kimono was a pain in the ass. It sure didn’t help most of the village was full of hills and I was still so weak. Every couple of minutes I needed to stop and try to breathe again. Giant conifer trees covered in snow and ice surrounded me. Cold air burned my lungs painfully and furthered slowed me down. What should have been an easy run to the training field lasted much longer. I was panting and shivering and exhausted when I finally pulled up over the last hill and in front of the carved out field.

Nobody was there. I blinked, rubbed my eyes, and muttered a curse. Crap! It took a bit to hustle down the last hill, sliding a bit as I went. I eventually made my way into the center of the field, looking around at the kicked up sections and the hastily covered prints. They must have left already. Well, I couldn’t blame them. I must have been hours late. Who would wait for someone that long? I stood tall again and let out a frustrated sigh. “God, what a mess I’m in.”

“Care to elaborate for us, Aohime-sama?”

I jumped about a foot in the air. Simply put, I toppled over into the snow and fell face first into the cold. There was a small chuckle, feminine, and the three ninjas landed in front of me. As I pushed myself back onto my knees and onto my feet again, I registered faces and names that belonged to those faces.

Kasumi was beautiful in a way I couldn’t entirely describe. Her snow white hair was pulled in a high ponytail with both sides of her head shaved. Blue eyes stared me down with little hidden contempt. Her off shoulder shirt showed off her lovely pale skin, and her laced up pants held tight to her crossed, annoyed legs. Her closed toed shoes tapped impatiently as she watched me catch my breath.

Hibiki... his eyes were intense, demanding, gold in color and cold as the ice around him. His braided hair was the same color and fell down his back. While he didn’t glare at me as obviously as Kasumi did, he certainly didn’t seem happy to see me. I watched him adjust his jacket a bit, a white leather thing with fur around the collar, and re-sheath the sword in his hand. 

The only person who truly startled me was Sumire-sensei. If Kasumi had a very cold, unchanging look to her, Sumire-sensai’s dark eyes froze the air around them. Her pale skin made her dark blue hair even darker, and the latter making the former whiter. Under her lips was a single mole, which just made her frown more evident. 

“You’re late, Aohime-sama,” she drawled. “After four hours, I didn’t think you’d show up.”

Right, I was abhorrently late. “I apologize,” I murmured. “Something happened on my way here and, well...”

Sumire-sensei cocked her head at me. “Truly? Care to tell me more on that?”

That... was not a question. “I, ah. I ran into some academy kids and they threw a snowball at me.”

“Explains the bruise on your forehead.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Beside her, Kasumi snorted. I glanced her way and almost gasped at the giggling smile she tried to hide. Poorly hidden, but hidden nonetheless. “Mercy, Aohime-sama, I suppose we should keep a closer eye on you, considering how frail you really are.”

I wanted to smack her. I wanted to get angry and holler and tell her to pound sand. But... That’s what Aohime would have done. Get mad and not let her get away with saying anything remotely critical. She would freak out and scream and Kasumi would just... take it until Aohime walked away in a rage. She just allowed whatever came out, since she'd simply freak out and run away.

Well... maybe I could start changing things up here. I gave an awkward giggle and went, “Yeah, it was kinda stupid, wasn’t it?”

Kasumi blinked. I smiled, dumb and silly, just to make her laugh. It didn’t work at all. Instead, she frowned further, confusion spreading through every inch of it, and remarked, “You might not like whatever answer I give, Aohime-sama.”

“Oh! About that. I’d appreciate it if you just called me Aoi from this point on. Easier on the tongue, I bet.”

Hibiki suddenly pushed away from the others. He stared me down, walked around me in a circle, eyes boring giant holes into me. I kind of felt like a piece of meat hanging at a market. Once he felt he had looked me over enough, he seized up in front of me. “Seems like you’re still Aohime.”

“Did you doubt I was her?”

Hibiki didn’t stutter when he informed me, “Yes.”

“Ouch.”

Kasumi slid beside Hibiki and cocked her head. You would have thought I had grown a second and third head by the look of confusion on her face. “Aohime-sama, you’re acting very strange.”

“Really?” I returned the head cock. “I’m just trying to be a little more... objective about everything.”

Hibiki and Kasumi glanced each other’s way, bafflement painting their features even further. Well, to be fair, I would be confused too. I couldn’t say anything after that, though, because Sumire-sensei clapped her hands. 

“Alright, alright,” she chided in a bored voice, “Enough interrogating the princess. Since it’s a little late, I’ll just give you two your assignments for the afternoon and have you train.” From the black jonin vest she wore, Sumire-sensei produced two small scrolls and handed one each to Hibiki and Kasumi. “Be sure to read these over carefully. I expect these to be completed and sent back to the Head Office before sunset tonight.”

“Yes sensei,” the two echoed back. They didn’t hop to attention immediately, however. I could see them trying to figure me out even further. 

“Well? Get to it! Burning daylight here!”

That got them both moving, hauling ass out of there in a single leap and barely disturbing the snow behind them as they went. Sumire-sensei and I stood alone together in the field, her staring down at me like I was some strange bug she happened to find and wanted to investigate. Her dark eyes burrowed into me even more harshly than with the others there.

I gulped. “Do you have a mission for me as well, Sumire-sensei?”

Her face twitched. It was far too quick for me to really see how it did, but I knew it was there. “You’ve never expressed a desire to do missions before, Aohime-sama.”

“There’s always time to change?”

She stared blankly.

“I... I think I need to be a better ninja. A better person. I’m not sure exactly where I can start, though...”

Sumire-sensei didn’t reply. She didn’t reply for a solid three minutes, possibly more. For a moment, I wondered if she’d ignore me. The kicked feeling in my gut got worse and worse, aching with each second she said nothing. I was ready to say she didn’t need to help me, to give up.

“You have a lot of catching up to do, Aoi-sama.”

My breath caught.

She ticked off her fingers as she spoke. “You’re physically very weak, you haven’t done any missions since graduation, and you’ve developed a reputation. Not to mention I fear there is something odd about your chakra.”

“I don’t understand that last one.”

Sumire-sensei sighed. “I suppose I should explain. You saw how those two moved so quickly.” I nodded. “Your chakra isn’t properly taken care of. It’s like it’s hidden in you instead of properly spread out across you.”

That wasn’t good. “Is there anyway I can fix it?”

“Honestly? I doubt you could fully recover whatever chakra might be in you. The way it is, I’d expect maybe you’d have a fraction of what you’d need to be a real ninja.”

My shoulders dropped. Hearing that was... painful. But she was right. I knew I had lost a lot more than my chakra.

“But... I can teach you something, if you show me you mean this.”

And just like that, everything felt warm and hopeful again. “You can?! Please, sensei!”

Sumire-sensei raised one meticulously trimmed nail. “Ah ah ah. First, you need to show me something else.”

“Anything,” I blurted out. I gulped as soon as I realized how brash that sounded, but by the smile on her red lips, I think Sumire-sensei liked it.

“Anything, she says.” My sensei went into her vest again, pulling out another scroll. I wanted to ask where she kept all these scrolls, but... I think there were more pertinent things to think about. Like her handing said scroll to me. “This is a list of jutsus and hand signals I want you to memorize, as well as a meditation practice you can use to work on your chakra.”

The writing inside the scroll was beautiful. Even if it all was work out items, it was a holy grail to me. I held it close to my chest and promised, “Sensei, I won’t let you down.”

“That isn’t everything, Aoi.”

I blinked a bit as she came closer and proceeded to press her forehead to my bruised one. The spot stung like a bitch, but where she touched, I felt warmth that chased everything away. The soreness, exhaustion, the bruise... everything faded away. Sumire-sensei pulled back, a smile on her face.

“What was that, sensei?”

“A minor chakra boost,” she explained. “For now, I want you to work on using what you have to get stronger. Everyday, you’ll come here with your teammates on time to receive a D-rank mission. I’ll give you ones as I see fit.” Her eyes narrowed a bit then. “If you’re late one day, however, I’m calling this whole thing off. Understood?”

It was a chance. It was all I needed. “Yes, sensei! You can count on me!”


	2. Second Position

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CHAP TWO! Please enjoy, I promise the OG cast will be arriving soon

I knew I had a lot of catching up to do in such a short time. My strength and stamina were terrible, frankly, and doing menial tasks was hard. The prior version of Aoi made demands and always got her way since she was engaged to the clan head's son. But if I wanted to survive in this new world, I needed to up my game. So I started my new schedule.

It was basic as hell but got the job done. Every morning I would be up early and spend time stretching and doing basic yoga poses, meditating and gently coaxing my chakra out of whatever hideyhole it shoved itself into. Breakfast was quick and I'd be off to meet up with my team.

Kasumi and Hibiki... they didn't trust my change. The first few days with their judging looks almost sent me back hiding. Can't say I blame them, but it still stung. There was only one way to show them I really intended to be better, however, and that was to continue on. Sumire-sensei assigned me a mission or two, depending on the intensity it would be, and I'd be off again. 

Hyogogakure was beautiful and lonely. While not the size of Konoha, it had enough people to give my jobs diversity and meaning. There were days I'd help shovel snow from an elderly couple's house and yard, or I would head to the docks and clean fish, or carry clothes for the seamstress. Most who first saw me at their doorstep thought they had been cheated out of an actual help, but once I did my best with no complaints? The tune changed. 

Once my missions were done for the day, I needed to drop them off at the main office and get whatever menial payment I would get from them. D-ranks didn’t make much, but I knew I was fortunate to not need the money. Some of the other ninja in there gave me funny looks that first day (apparently, nobody wanted to help clean Old Lady Sukima’s house), but making sure I was present every day with my things and ready to report earned a bit of respect.

Evenings were busy as well. Once I finished my missions for the day, Sumire-sensei would send me off to work on my chakra since "You still need more to work with". Fair. I studied techniques to improve myself, but I had one activity I loved the most. While I worked on my chakra and stamina, I danced. Practicing each pose, moving from one to another in a familiar rhythm, holding myself up to bend from Pointe to flat, that was my happy place. Father even had a railing installed in my room so I could work further. 

Truthfully speaking, I didn't have any expectations for myself. Trying to regain a ballerina's flexibility and strength should have taken much longer. I spent my childhood and teen years building myself up into the powerhouse I was, learning Pointe and tap and modern dance. The most I could hope for was having my strength back and maybe able to go on. 

But my new body and my chakra did something to me in those first days. In two weeks, I wasn't out of breath from running. In five, my legs stopped aching from my morning stretches. At ten, I could go to Pointe for a few minutes and not shout from the pain. By the end of the second month of my schedule, I could do twenty-five foettes without stopping. That was the first time I actually cried. I had hope for myself and that I could regain what was lost being shoved into another world and body. Sensei started giving me even more missions during my day, so I “couldn’t get too bored”. 

It was about three months into my new life that I finally figured some things out. Late one evening I headed up to the Head Office. I gave my usual greeting to the front door person (as best I could with an armful of completed mission scrolls) and walked in.

“Oi, Aoi! You’re coming by late!” One of the jounin waiting at the desk put his pipe down as I strolled up. “Did Sumire give you some tough missions today?”

I laughed. “As tough as D-ranks could be.” I started placing each scroll on the table, ticking them off in my head. “Ok, here’s Mr. Miyagi’s request for a painted fence, Hakama-san’s tailoring assistance request, Yama-san’s tree removal request, and what else... Right!” I set the last scroll down, pleased as punch. “Cleaned the nests on the Kadinaru house.”  
“Ah, the Kadinaru house,” another jonin chuckled, “nobody likes cleaning those nests. Sometimes I wonder if the birds in Konoha have it better than ours.”

His friend must have kicked him under the table, if the shift on their feet was any indication. “Don’t make wishes like that. Konoha has their own brand of bullshit there.”

Konoha. Naruto’s main village in the series--the only one that really got much more than a few episodes. This was the first time I had heard anything about Konoha in the months I’d been there. “Can I ask what you mean?” I carefully brought up the question, fearing their worry or anger at me.

That wasn’t needed, it seems. The first jonin leaned in and informed me, “You might not remember this clearly, since you were what, nine, ten, when it happened, but... The Uchiha Clan head’s son killed his entire clan. And he left only his own brother behind!”

“Poor kid,” his friend sighed. “I heard he’ll be graduating from the academy soon. This spring, maybe?”

“I think so. Feel bad for whoever gets stuck with him, though. Konoha does some bullshit lottery by the Sandaime, from what I heard.”

“How do you guys know about this?” I asked.

Jonin one waved his hand at me. “Generally, gossip gets out about Konoha fast. Their general gossip line is pretty loose, so long as it’s not a security thing.” He shifted and grabbed a scroll, investigating it carefully. “Anyway, I dunno what exactly that crazy fucker is doing now.”

“Don’t curse like that,” the second jonin chided. “He’s a missing nin now, somewhere in our bingo books. Pretty boy, but has some serious issues if he murdered his clan.”

“You’re so gay, I worry about you.”

“Can I see him?”

Both of them looked back up from whatever camaraderie they were in. The second was the one to speak first, wonder painting his pale complexion. “Are you sure, Aoi-chan? I know all this must be rather frightening, since you’ve never been out of the village.”

I shrugged. “I guess I’m not as spooked as I should be.”

The first laughed, booming and jovial. “Sounds like you’ve frozen those nerves of yours! Good!” He reached into the bag beside him, pulling out a small book that looked more like a calendar. It took a few minutes of him flipping through, but he quickly identified the page. “Here we are. One crazy Konoha Bastard.” 

I peered in. I wasn’t really sure what I was expecting... but seeing Itachi Uchiha’s sunken cheeks and dark eyes staring back at me knocked something out of me. My gut slammed hard as I realized even further what I was looking at, and what it meant. I thought being in this strange new life for three months had registered everything to me... I guess it didn't.

I must have gone pale from the news, because the second jonin gasped. “Don’t worry too much, little miss! I doubt you or anyone in our little village would ever see this man! Our village is too small for anyone to take notice!"

"Oh no," I tried to backpedal, "I was just thinking... He looks so old."

That was officially the dumbest thing I could have said. 

"Yeah, an unfortunate side effect of being a ninja. Sometimes you just.. age harder."

Thankfully, for some unknown reason, they bought it. 

"You've never seen the Sandaime, but he looks like death warmed over. But don't worry, I think a lot of lady ninja are immune to the curse."

“Like Tsunade of the Sanin!”

“Yeah, Tsunade looks amazing! She’s what, fifty-ish? And she still looks hot as hell!"

There was a noisy tut behind me. “Gossiping about women, Nao, Yuri?” All three of us dropped silent and I turned around. Sumire-sensei stood there, an unamused look on her face. “Nao I would expect, but you, Yuri?”

The second jonin--now Yuri, I suppose--gave a snorting laugh. “We aren’t discussing how attractive Tsunade is, Amamiya-san. Just making the little miss feel better about being a ninja.”

Sumire-sensei rolled her eyes then. “You both are ridiculous.” She turned to me then, face schooled into a firmer expression. “You’re awful late today. Did you have a difficult time with your missions?”

“No trouble, Sensei,” I replied. “I actually am late since I picked up an extra one. The Kadinaru house needed the nests cleaned.”

“That isn’t a very pleasant mission.”

“It wasn’t,” I agreed. “But the caretakers gave me a down throw pillow as a thank you.”

She chuckled. It was a dark, soft noise that vibrated her entire chest. It was the first time I had ever heard sensei laugh. I didn’t have much time to linger on how wonderful it sounded, because she replied, “You remind me of someone I knew many years back. I’ll let it go today, since you did such a good job.”

“Ey, Amamiya,” Nao remarked, “I dunno what you did to get this one to be good, but keep it up. She’s been working through our D-ranks faster than the little pups.”

“Because the little pups aren’t willing to work for it,” she snarked. “Anyway, I’m not here to chatter with you two gossips.”

“Ah? Then what are you here for?”

Sumire-sensei didn’t respond, but only because of the doors opening again. I certainly didn’t expect to see a crowd of folks, all in weathered clothes and wearing weathered faces. What bothered me was how... not cold resistant these clothes were. Most of them looked downright freezing. The person ahead of them, an older woman, came forward, eyes heavy and dark.

“Are you accepting mission requests?” she asked in a soft, tired, reedy voice.

Nao stood up first. “Sorry ma’am, the mission office closed a while ago. You’ll need to come back tomorrow.”

The crowd behind her started murmuring to each other. A low buzz stayed in the background for a moment, until Yuri spoke up. “Nao, let’s hear them out first. Maybe we can take note for them?”

Sensei and I moved aside, letting the older woman through. From her burlap looking bag, she pulled out a scroll. “I’m with the Land of Waves,” she explained as Nao took the scroll and looked it over. “We were hoping to apply for extra assistance while a bridge is being built in our area. We... don’t have much, but we can pay for a genin team and a D rank.”

Nao and Yuri stayed silent as they read it over. In the quiet, something registered in my mind. Wait, this... the Land of Waves was the first mission Team 7 had. They escorted an old man--what was his name? He looked old as sin and had a really annoying grandson--to the Land of Waves and faced off against Zabuza and that pretty boy Haku. It was one of the deaths that really fucked up a bunch of kids who never saw graphic deaths in anything, let alone a cartoon. But this was the first time I had heard of the village itself looking for protection.

I stopped thinking about it when Nao spoke up. “I’m sorry, but this request... knowing who is in the Land of Waves, I can’t put this request any lower than a C rank.” His voice really was apologetic and gentle; I bet he knew what was happening in the Land of Waves. 

“Please, sir,” the old woman begged softly, “we really need this bridge done.”

“I know,” Nao agreed, “but I can’t send out unprepared genin for this. They’d need to be at a higher level, or at least more experienced.”

Yuri nodded. “Either that, or they’d need to know about the Land of Waves, and most of our genin don’t have any idea.”

Wait. I grabbed my Sensei’s arm as an idea firmly planted itself into my head. If I can go to the Land of Waves, with my team, I... I could meet up with the cast and get my bearings about them. I only recalled minor details, but I needed more. And... And maybe I could learn more about the odd predicament I was in.

“Sensei,” I whispered, “could our team take it as a D-rank?”

“Absolutely not. It’s far too dangerous.”

That was a fast and very decisive response. “I know it is, Sensei, but these people really need help.”

“Lots of people need help, Aoi, but this is a mission I cannot allow you to take.”

“I don’t understand,” I argued. “We’re ninja. We know how to fight. And we’d have you too!”

Sumire-sensei glanced down at me, eyes shocked. “Aoi, are you sure you know how dangerous it would be? The Land of Waves is currently under the thumb of a tyrant called Gato. He wouldn’t have any problem hiring ninjas of his own to attack us, up to and including missing nin.” 

I already knew that. “Sensei, I know. I know I’m overstepping my boundaries, but... Look at them. I think we can help them.”

Sumire-sensei paused. She stared at me, then at the small group looking equally frightened. There was something wonderfully soft in her eyes. I knew she was abrasive in a way, but... she just watched the group with all kinds of concern. Carefully, I touched her arm again.

“Please, sensei?” I murmured. “I... I know we can help them. I know it.”

She closed her eyes. Sumire never lost her stern expression the whole while. Did she want to say yes? Would she just say no again? What was she thinking? I had no idea, really. Her expression was completely unreadable. After a minute of listening to the old woman and the jonin argue, Sumire-sensei sighed.

“You are just like her sometimes,” she remarked in a soft, almost unheard voice. I didn’t get a chance to ask, since she immediately stepped between the old woman and the jonin. “Ma’am, Nao, Yuri,” she remarked, “I can have my team take up this mission at a lower cost.”

Sensei!

“Are you sure?” Nao asked, concern coloring his words. “As hard as Aoi has been working, I’m unsure if she’ll be ready to face a mission of this caliber straight on.”

Sumire glanced at him from the corner of her eye. For a second, I thought she would agree and back off. But her teasing smile peaked out before she turned fully to him. 

“Aoi-chan wouldn’t be alone, you know. She’d have her teammates and me. Plus, she’s been working hard to get stronger, for everyone’s sake. I think she can handle a mission like this.” It was my turn then to get the teasing side eye. “What do you think, Aoi-chan? Want to help these folks out?”

I had no reason to hesitate. “Yes, sensei!”

Her smirk widened into a smile, and she turned back to the jonin. “Sorry to ask you two to work more, but write up a mission statement for these folks. D-rank, usual pay, room for additional funds when applicable. I’ll get arrangements back to the Land of Waves for the morning.”

There was a sniffle. The older woman rubbed her eyes, shivering a little as she did so. How didn’t I notice the scars and bruises and calluses on her body? “Thank you, thank you... When our bridge is repaired, there will be a reward for all of you.”

“You got a D-rank, don’t feel like you need to promise more rewards,” Sumire-sensei chuckled. She turned back to me and remarked, “Go head on home and let your parents and the other two know we’re leaving bright and early tomorrow. The Land of Waves is a distant boat trip and we need everyone packed up.”

Right! I turned tail and hustled out the door again. Sensei was depending on me! And I had to prepare too!

“Are you kidding me?” Hibiki snapped. “You volunteered us to go to the Land of Waves?”

“This is a horrible idea, Aohime-sama,” Kasumi grumbled.

Yeesh. You’d think I offered us up to bounty hunt S-rank ninjas. But when I dropped the news on the two at the compound, they were far from happy at the news. Both of them looked downright ready to commit homicide.

“It isn’t going to be an issue!” I insisted. “We just need to help them out while the bridge is finished. It won’t be a nightmare mission of any sort!”

Hibiki turned his glare my way. I couldn’t tell if he was going to eat me alive or just scold me again. “The nightmare won’t be the mission but constantly protecting you, Princess,” he snarled. “We’re your bodyguards before your teammates.”

Ouch. “I’ve been training really hard these last months! I can do the basic jutsus now.”

Kasumi snorted. “You’ll need more than just ‘basic jutsus’ to get anywhere as a ninja, Aohime-sama.” I glared at her, but did nothing more than that. “Either way, we’ll be stuck with more work than just ‘protect civilians while a bridge is built’.”

Okay, this was annoying. “You two will not be protecting me! Haven’t you seen how many missions I’ve been doing? The work I’ve been putting into training my chakra? Any of that?”

The two gave each other blank, unamused looks. It was pretty evident what they were thinking, even if they didn’t reply to me.

“You don’t believe me,” I sighed. A headache bloomed in my temples and I gently rubbed them with my fingers. “Fine, whatever. Sensei’s already signed us up for this, so I’m not here to argue with you about it. Just get ready to leave in the morning.”

I turned away from them and back to the house. What I needed was a couple dozen fouettes and stretching myself out. I barely got two steps in, however, when a hand latched onto my wrist.

Hibiki. He hissed, “What is wrong with you?” 

"What the hell?" I gasped.

"You’ve been acting weird for three months. Do you really think we'd buy the idea you actually want to be a serious ninja?"

"Let go of me," I snarled, struggling to pull out of his hands. His grip hurt. Hibiki didn't reply, only tightened his grip.

"Listen to me. You are the future wife of the clan head. Being reckless like this won't just get you in trouble. Don't play with Kasumi and I's lives."

I yanked harder. "Hibiki, let go of me!"

"Biki, you should stop," Kasumi called. "You can't bruise her or she'll tattle."

That. That was enough. "I SAID LET GO!" I hollered, shoving chakra into my hand and yanking through his fingers. Hibiki gasped and stepped back. I did, too, and took my wrist in hand.

There weren't bruises or any angry red marks. Instead, the spot I pushed my chakra into was freezing cold. My skin looked almost blue. I poked the spot and watched my fingers leave warmed patches in the cold encircling my wrist. 

"What... what was that?" Hibiki asked. I looked up and noticed his own hand, angry red with sections looking frostbitten. "Aohime-sama--"

"Be ready tomorrow before dawn," I informed them. "I'll be leaving now."

Back in my room, hidden away from any prying eyes, I pushed my sleeve up again. The ice had faded from my rushing, but the coolness remained. I pressed my fingers against it. The heat in my thumb flushed into my wrist and I shivered. What was going on? I officially had more questions than answers.

Maybe the Land of Waves would give me answers.


	3. Third Position

I ended up having quite a bit of time to think things over. 

As planned, the next morning, my team and I were on a boat off the coast to Wave Country. It wasn’t a massive boat; all the people who came in search of help had their own, so we ended up getting a much smaller one for our team. Sumire-sensei knew someone willing to take us all the way to Wave Country, so thankfully we only needed to stay alert and keep an eye on things. 

All of this wouldn’t be an issue, except something was very strange about Hibiki. He stared at me while we packed up the ship, while we greeted the people of Wave Country, and while we shoved off. It was incredibly strange, considering he didn’t like me. He even did so on the ship, before Sensei got our attention.

“We should only take a few days to get to Wave Country,” Sensei informed us early on in our trip after she gathered us on the top deck. “I suggest you take the day to relax and reenergize. We still don’t know exactly what to expect when we make land.”

Hibiki raised a hand from his post leaning on the side of the ship. “We should at least have some on watch at night, even if we’re all the way out here.”

Sumire-sensei nodded. “That I can agree with. We’ll take shifts tonight.”

I raised my hand from my spot on the floor. “Sensei, I can take the first shift.”

Kasumi snorted again. “No need to volunteer, Aohime-sama.”

I glared at her. “I didn’t see you offering to take the first shift.”

“Easy, both of you,” Sumire-sensei placated. “Aoi, go ahead and take the first shift. Kasumi, Hibiki, decide who will go next amongst yourselves. I’ll do the last one myself.” She yawned a bit as she stretched her arms behind her back. I watched her head into the little building on the ship, probably heading off to sleep.

It wasn’t long until Kasumi and Hibiki both followed her and the night sky came upon me. I sat at the bow in a pretzel, looking out to the ocean around me. The night air was unsurprisingly chilly. Briefly, I pulled my cloak into myself a little more. The pale blue pattern was a little on the nose, but really, it could be worse. I had bigger things to think about.

Specifically, I thought about what happened the day before. My chakra felt like ice at that moment when Hibiki grabbed me. When I was trying to work with my chakra, it didn’t feel specifically like anything. It just was part of me. But when I protected myself, I felt like I was the ice and snow. Thing is, I had no idea where it came from or what it meant. Was there something wrong with my chakra, that it felt so cold? Just thinking about it all... gave me a headache.

And this all wasn’t even considering where we were headed. From my memories, Naruto’s team ended up in the Land of Waves after an initial fight with Zabuza. What did I think I could do, so early on? Team Seven hadn’t even seen the horrors that come with being a ninja. And then there was Zabuza, who the Mist village royally fucked over and had to spend his life taking jobs from creeps like Gato. And Haku... Another wronged child from the Mist Village, whose kekkai genkai acted less like a badge of honor and more like a giant target. Their bond... was heartbreaking.

I quickly stood, I didn’t need to think so hard about everything right away. Instead, I kicked off my open toed ninja shoes and settled my feet. Pose a little, try to calm down and not panic. Think in motions.

_ First position _ . Heels together, back straight, arms cupped in front of me. Breathe in for four, out for seven.

Perhaps I could help Zabuza and Haku. Their goals were, in fact, related to Water Country. My clan still seemed pretty powerful.

_ Devant in front _ . One leg forward to the bow, arms raised. Breathe in, breathe out.

The question was, could I handle fighting them? Haku had impressive skills with his kekkai genkai, and Zabuza had a big ass sword. I needed an ace in the hole if I wanted to stop them both before anything happened.

_ A la seconde to the side _ . A shift in the hips sent my outward leg to the side, pointed. Breathe in, breathe out.

I didn’t have a specific ace in the hole, but... perhaps my knowledge of what happened to them in the past could aide me. I knew Zabuza was one of the cases of Mist Academy having a sole graduate each year, and Haku was a victim of the Mizukage.

_ Fifth en haut en pointe.  _ Arms in the air and ankles crossed, I went onto my tiptoes as best I could. Breathe in, breathe out.

Wasn’t there some big reason why the Mizukage was destroying his kekkai genkai users? And there was a big rebellion in the end, with a woman named Mei,.. 

_ Attitude.  _ Left leg holding me steady en pointe, my back leg going straight behind me at a right angle. One arm stretched to the side, the other remaining in the air. Breathe in, breathe out.

Yeah... Zabuza wouldn’t know about the rebellion. If I told him about it, told him it was happening and could use extra help...

“Aohime-sama?”

I dropped my pose and spun. Hibiki stood behind me, wrapped in his cloak. Oh, he was... I laced my fingers behind my back and tried to smile a bit. “You’re here for your shift, right? Thanks for being on time. Go ahead.” I stretched my arms high over my head, looking ready to sleep.

“Wait, before you go...” Hibiki came a little closer, and that was when I realized how... not rested he looked. The dark circles, crow’s feet, and heavy lids were pretty evident. I stopped and wondered how long he actually rested. “I, we need to talk.”

“About what?” I begged the universe to not have him ask about my posing.

“What happened yesterday,” he began, gesturing with a hand to my wrist. Oh. “Don’t tell anyone what happened.”

Okay, that was annoying. “Did you seriously ask me not to tattle on you? For fuck’s sake, Hibiki...”

He shook his head. “No, not about me grabbing you like that. You can tell your parents or Sumire-sensei about that.”

“That sure isn’t what it sounded like,” I grunted, crossing my arms. 

Hibiki groaned, one hand cupping his forehead. “No, it isn’t good, I know. I just... what happened when you yanked away from me. Don’t tell anyone about that.”

I blinked. Wait, was he talking about my chakra? “Do you know what that was about? Because I have no idea what it means.”

Apparently, my reaction isn’t what he expected. Hibiki’s jaw dropped through the boat into the ocean and probably hit a few fish on the way down. He didn’t speak for a solid few minutes. Once he did find his voice, he actually laughed. Not a boisterous kind of laugh, mind you, but one full of self-depreciation and realization. 

“Of course they wouldn’t tell you,” he sighed. “If anything, they’d probably never tell anyone again.”

“Tell me what?” I asked. Hibiki glanced down and didn’t respond. “Hibiki. If this is serious enough I might be in trouble if I told anyone, then I need you to be honest with me.”

He paused. Hibiki’s gold eyes seemed thoughtful, looking through me in his strange way. It was like being pulled under water and interrogated without words. He did end up sighing though, turning to the side railing and gesturing to me. “Talk with me for a while.”

I did. Hibiki dwarfed me, a solid six feet and inches over my five foot two. Yet when we stood against the railing, looking onto the ocean, he felt so much closer to me. Maybe it was the cloak, or the cold air, or my own delusions, but there was... a closer feeling than we had before.

“It is... difficult for me to explain this,” he sighed, leaning over the railing. I could see splashes of dark water hit his hands dangling off. “Since I don’t know exactly what the family has been keeping from you, I can’t really explain from a specific point.”

“You could always start from the beginning, and if I need more details you can go on.”

“That will work.” He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, then asked, “You know I am an adopted child, right?”

I nodded. That memory still lived in Aoi’s head. “From Land of Winds, right?”

“That’s right. I was taken in by one of the branch families as a possible heir in the future. I was about seven when it happened.” Hibiki sighed; his breath was visible in the cooling air. “There were several conditions, however, to everything. I couldn’t marry a woman outside of the clan; I was to never speak of my life prior to being taken in; and I was never, ever, allowed to use my kekkai genkai in battles.”

My brain screeched to a halt. Wait, what? “You have a kekkai genkai?”

He nodded. “Metal release. Sunagakure doesn’t have the same clan system other villages have, so it is considered a skill of the village itself. But since I had not been acknowledged as a wielder in my youth, the Hanayuki clan was able to adopt me.” Hibiki flexed his hands and I saw him grip his thumb. “I probably shouldn’t have agreed to that.”

This was... news. Hibiki had a kekkai genkai--and one I don’t remember seeing in the series much. It must have been really rare, or died out, or... My thoughts trailed before a question suddenly slammed itself into my head. “Wait, hang on. The Mizukage wanted to wipe out all kekkai genkai users, didn’t he?”

I expected to be told to shush, or that I should be more respectful, or something, but Hibiki nodded solemnly. “It’s true. No idea why; maybe it’s just the ideals of a madman.” He turned fully to me then. “It’s why I want you to stay quiet about what happened.”

“Wait, wait, hang on,” I insisted. “I think I’m getting stuck somewhere. You have a kekkai genkai, I get that, but... what does that have to do with me and what happened?”

I didn’t expect bombs to be in  _ Naruto,  _ but apparently they did, because Hibiki proceeded to drop one right on my head.

“That ice you saw on your wrist is clear proof you have the Hanayuki’s Ice Release.”

My stomach dropped right out of me. I couldn’t speak words. I couldn’t think words. Hell, even abstract thoughts were hard to process. All I could process in that moment was the image of my wrist covered in ice. Hibiki was surprisingly patient; I don’t know how long he waited for me to say something. Once I finally found words, all I could say is, “Why?”

“Good question,” he sighed. “I think you just never had a reason to really use your chakra, so it never came out.”

“No, I...” I gulped in a vain attempt to rewet my mouth. “Why do I have it? All kekkai genkai users and their clans were...”

Hibiki gave me a sad little smile. I really had no words for what I saw aside from sympathy. “Not the Hanayuki clan. They decided to face the music sooner than later and ensured their survival with a terrible decision.”

He... didn’t need to explain what it was. “They killed their own.”

“Yes. When the new clan head took over, he ensured his position by working with the Mizukage and killing every single person in their clan with the kekkai genkai.”

“Hibiki, how do you know this?” I asked, almost begged to know. “Surely they’d keep this quiet, right?”

That incited a shaking head and a darkening of his eyes. “I would think so, too, but the head takes pride in taking control so quickly and decisively. Word of what the Hanayuki clan did to survive spread once the purge came to an end, and now here we are.”

“Now here we are.”

We stood in silence. The ocean around us crashed against the side of the boat, rocking it to and fro, a cradle in the deep blue. I couldn’t really find words to say, really. My brain just spent time filing away all this new information, ensuring I wouldn’t forget it again.

“What should I do now?” I finally asked. Hibiki glanced my way again. “Do I keep this a secret forever? Never train my skill? Let it fade and die inside of me?”

“I don’t think you need to do that,” he replied. “I train mine in secret. So long as you’re careful, you should be alright.”

“I... It’s not fair,” I sighed. That sounded a lot more childish than I expected.

Yet somehow Hibiki didn’t call me out on sounding like a five year old. “It really isn’t, is it?” I wondered what I should say to that, if I could say anything else. But Hibiki surprised me again. He reached out to ruffle my hair. The weight surprised me, but the gentleness in the motion shocked me even more. “Go get some rest, Aoi. Heavy conversations usually need an extra heavy sleep to go with it.”

And frankly, I was far too tired to really argue with him.   
  


The second night aboard the ship was entirely uneventful, which I was very thankful of. I did not want to have another heavy, difficult conversation with anyone. Instead, I took some time to myself to meditate and get in tune with my chakra as Sumire-sensei suggested. Kasumi gave me some funny looks at first, but Hibiki consistently redirected her to a card game he brought along. 

My chakra... was very odd. At first touch, it felt cooler than most, just... different from the outside world. From the books Sumire-sensei gave me to study, chakra was a life force. Every person’s chakra is different. It reflected them and allowed them to get in touch with the world around them. Using chakra to interact with everything was standard fare. I sat cross legged and focused on it, trying to get in touch with  _ something  _ that would give me more to work with. My legs went numb and my head hurt and I almost fell asleep several times trying.

When we landed in The Land of Waves, I still had no idea what to do with this knowledge of my kekkai genkai. I did my best to shake off my frustrations, however; there was a mission I needed to be on. We were unloading the very few bags we had (one bag each, only containing the few things truly needed of a D-rank ninja) when Sumire-sensei closed her hand on my shoulder.

“Are you feeling alright, Aoi?”

I nodded.

“You spent a solid day trying to meditate. Something happen?”

That felt like a loaded question. “Nothing really...” 

“Aoi. I can tell you’re lying.”

Shit. “I just... I had a conversation with Hibiki that really opened my eyes. I’m just trying to figure out where to go from here.”

Sumire-sensei tilted her head at me, like she was deciding something. Part of me assumed it was her way of saying ‘I know there’s more to this than just a general conversation, but I’m not sure what it was’. “When we have time, let’s work on your chakra control. I’m sure you’ll be able to work with me on that, yes?”

“Yes, sensei.”

Ahead of us, the boat full of workers and the gentle elderly woman unloaded. We headed over and offered brief greetings before aiding in unloading and retying the ship for the crew. The people in Wave Country looked as weary as the passengers on the ship. Can’t say I blamed them, though. With Gato’s taxes draining them dry and working them to the bone, surely they’d be exhausted. I reminded myself that, no matter the outcome of the battle with Zabuza or the bridge or anything else, Gato was going to die. I would personally kill him before he kept hurting others.

My murderous thoughts fell apart when a young woman came running over to the elderly woman. Panic laced her soft but tired features as she hurriedly told the older woman something. Sumire-sensi meandered over to her, probably planning on eavesdropping, but froze and immediately whipped over to me.

“Aoi, Hibiki, Kasumi!” We all snapped to attention from our positions. “We’re going ahead first. Sounds like we’re needed sooner at the builder’s home.”

Kasumi quickly joined Sensei’s side with Hibiki and I following after. “Did something happen?”

She gave a single sharp nod. “Our employer’s husband went to another village to retrieve assistance and on his way back was attacked.”

Assistance? I glanced at the old woman again, looking deep at her features finally. Her long gray hair had small tinges of deep blue, and her eyes were soft and dark. My brain went haywire with this knowledge. “Ma’am, I apologize for my rudeness... but can I ask your name?”

She smiled sweetly. “I’m called Tatsumaki, dearest. My husband, Tazuna, must have gone to the Land of Fire’s village to retrieve more help.”

_ Tazuna.  _ This was his wife! And the team he hired...

“Come on!”Sumire-sensei called. When did she get so far away from me? “We need to find out what’s going on!”

I gave Tatsumaki a final bow and hurried after my team.

The little village leading to Tazuna’s homestead was a much, much easier run than through the snow. Even though it was, I lagged behind my teammates and Sensei. Still had a long way to go before I was really a ninja. There was no time to mope, however, because we landed outside Tatsumaki’s home and waited.

Sumire-sensei stood steady in front of the door. I felt a faint  _ something _ that I couldn't fully describe. It was steady, heated, cinnamon like and burned my nose and mouth. I breathed into my hand, steadying myself once more.

“Four ninja,” she whispered. “One older, three children--one is strange, very odd..” The rest of her word fell into a hushed murmur, so low I couldn’t catch a word and so quick I couldn’t read her lips. What was she doing?

I glanced Hibiki’s way once I caught my breath. He raised a finger to his lips, No speaking, it seemed like. We waited a moment more and watched our Sensei whisper to herself. She stopped, stood straight again, and turned to us. “Looks like Tazuna-san hired his own genin team to escort him. I’m certain I know the village as well, but I cannot make any assumptions.”

“How could you tell, sensei?” Kasumi asked, her voice just as hushed.

Sensei gave a smile that edged into a smirk. “I’m familiar with the jounin here.”

...Wait, what? Tatsumaki and the younger woman--I bet her daughter--caught up to us by then, so I couldn’t ask what the hell she meant by that. Sumire-sensei stepped aside for her and we waited as she opened up the door for us. Shoes were removed and piled next to other blue pairs and Tatsumaki led us in with a “Come in, you’re welcome here.”

“Excuse us,” Sumire-sensei informed the house. The other ninjas in the house immediately noticed us and, not to my surprise, looked our way.

My suspicions were very correct. Inside were three little genin and one injured, exhausted looking jounin with exactly one fourth of his face not covered. A strange blend of excitement and anxiety boiled in my gut as I registered the soft pink locks of the first, the intense brood of the second, and the blonde hair and blue eyes of the third.

“Hey, old man! Who’re these guys?”

Team Seven had officially arrived.

“Alright, lemme run this by you guys again.” Sensei really had a no-nonsense voice when she wanted to have one. “Tazuna here got your services at a C-rank but failed to mention Gato--or the fact he knows that a missing Kiri ninja is after him. Not only were you jumped by the infamous Demon Brothers, but Zabuza as well, and now the strongest ninja here is injured and I’m sitting with six genin and a ton of civilians.”

Kakashi gave a haphazard shrug--as best he could with his arm in a bandage. “Pretty much. Why you felt the need to repeat it, I don’t get.”

“I’m trying to process this all myself,” Sumire-sensei snarked. “Repeating it in my own voice sounded like a better option.” She rubbed her temples as she leaned against the wall beside his bed. “Okay. We have bitten off way more than we can chew with this mission.”

At the table, I stopped unpacking my bag. Crap. I forgot the extent of everything Team Seven had to go through before they even landed in Wave Country. Would sensei call off the contract before we actually had time to help?

My fears were unfounded as Hibiki finished rolling his sleeping back out. “Sensei, having this additional team should be a boon to us, even if they are children.”

Naruto, nearby with Sakura and Sasuke, puffed up like an angry fish. “Ey! I’m not a kid!”

“You’re small enough for me to give a noogie as needed. You’re a kid.” Hibiki shot Naruto a little grin; nothing sinister, but still made Naruto jolt. “You should be glad us old farts are here to help you out.”

That... was surprising. For all his scary faces and frightening vocal fries, he sounded almost fond. “Hibiki,” I asked gently, “do you like kids?”

He looked back at me. “I do, actually.”

“Ey! We aren’t kids!” Naruto pouted further.

“It’s not a bash at you, sunshine,” I teased. “You’re just younger than us and Hibiki is fond of kiddos.”

That might have been a mistake. Naruto perked up a bit and looked right my way, eyes bright. “Sunshine?”

Oh, shit. I turned a shade of red--I felt the heat burn right up in my cheeks like I was on fire--and tried to hide it behind my hand. “Ah... I mean... ah. Well, I guess you’re kinda... sunshine-y?”

Kasumi, from the kitchen, laughed at me. “He’s been whining since we got here, Aohime-sama. He’s not very sunshine-y.”

“I thought he was really cute!”

Sasuke snorted.

“Not sure why you’d all want to stay here,” a small voice grumbled. My eyes wandered to Inari, sitting at the table with his mother. “Not like you’d be able to do anything.”

Ah, that’s right. Naruto was supposed to inspire Tazuna’s grandson with his heroism and good nature. I couldn’t quite recall what he was so bitter about, but I reckoned it had something to do with the lack of parental figure in the house. I wasn’t personally equip to handle this... but I wanted to say something.

“Unable to do anything?” I gasped with my hand on my chest. “Excuse you, but your grandma hired the best genin team in Hyobogakure for the job!”

He shot me a stink eye worthy of awards.

“Oof, tough crowd. But I can assure you it’s true! We’ll be able to protect the bridge and you’ll be just fine!”

“Big claims from someone who’s still a genin.”

“Hey!”

Sumire-sensei stood, giving her hands a few little claps. “Okay, okay, everyone relax. Seems we’ll be working together for the time being, so let’s try to get along and behave.”

Tazuna, who had been quiet for the most part since his wife returned, came out of the kitchen. He really did look weary and old; I forgot exactly how much the bridge project took its toll on him. “We should probably send one of the hired teams back home,” he groaned. “We don’t have enough space for all of you.”

Tatsumaki emerged next, patting her husband on the shoulder. There was a subtle air of threatening on her as she spoke. “Darling, you’re the one who hired a second genin team when I said I was getting someone. We’re keeping them both here and they can stay in our house.”

Sumire-sensei laughed. “It’s alright, Tatsumaki-san. My team brought sleeping bags with them, so we can sleep outside if we need to.”

“Absolutely not,” she replied. “Tazuna brought this on himself by forgetting what we promised. Not saying I’m not grateful you protected him!” Kakashi waved off the apology. “But since we do have so many, we will accommodate all of you.”

She then flashed her husband a grin. “Isn’t that right, darling?”

Whelp, Tatsumaki officially was the one to worry about.

Kakashi perked up a bit as he stood--carefully, his arm was still wrapped up. “Why don’t we introduce ourselves, Team Seven? We should get along with these other village ninja.”

There was a small grumble from the couch, but all three members of Team Seven stood. I guess they were expecting this to be a mission only for them (well, it was, but here we are). Kakashi walked to their side and planted his good hand on Naruto’s head. “A pleasure meeting you all. I’m Hatake Kakashi, and these three are Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto. Say hi, kids.”

All three let out a little chorus of hellos at us. Sumire-sensei looked the most pleased about this turn of events. 

“Never did I think I’d see the famous Kakashi Hatake with a little pack of Genin. It’s almost cute.”

Okay, that was officially something I needed to mention. “Sensei, you know Kakashi-san?”

She gave a little shrug as she came back to my side. “Not intimately,” she replied. “But I do know him from missions in the past.” The raised finger to her lips told me to shush with much less effort. Once I nodded my agreement, she glanced back to Team Seven. “The pleasure is our, Kakashi-san. I’m Sumire Amamiya, and this is Hanayuki Aoi, Hanayuki Hibki, and Hanayuki Kasumi.”

“Hang on!” Naruto gasped. “You’re all related? Are you siblings?”

Sasuke groaned and Sakura glared. “Naruto, they’re probably all from the same clan. Shut it!” She must have elbowed him by his little flinch.

“A clan team,” Kakashi mused, escorting the kids to the cleared and the table full of food. “I didn’t expect to hear about you getting saddled with one, Amamiya-san.”

“Don’t sound so surprised,” she replied, leaning against the wall. Tatsumaki offered her a plate to grab food from. “My team is a little different from the standard clan team.”

“I can tell.”

Sumire-sensei chuckled around a spoonful of soup. As Kasumi and I waited our turn for a ladleful of food, I cocked my head to look at her better, but only got a wink in reply. What on earth was going through her head?

I didn’t get much more time to ask questions, since food was placed  on myin my plate and I was too hungry to look for answers.


	4. Fourth Position

The brisk early morning in Wave Country felt like a perfect time to stretch out and relax before the day really began. Most everyone else was fast asleep; my team laid in their sleeping bags and Team Seven rested in the spare cots Tazuna and Tatsumaki pulled out for them. Sumire-sensei was given the couch, since she didn’t care about being stiff. I probably stirred her a little when I woke early and dressed to begin my morning.

One thing I had to do during my first few months was get new clothes. Most of Aohime’s clothes were made for showing off her wealth and position as fiance to the next clan head. I ended up commissioning some leotards, unitards, and stretch pants to suit my morning workouts. That cool morning, I picked a thicker white unitard, since it would keep me warmer while I meditated and relaxed. There was a nice little spot, cleared of debris and grass, that suited me, so I settled in there and began.

As I stretched and greeted the day, I shifted my feet on the ground. Being barefoot was far less than ideal. I could really injure myself if I danced in bare feet! But until I could get one of the shoemakers in Hyobo to make me some proper slippers, I had no other options. It just meant I couldn’t be on full pointe for a while is all, and I needed more leg strength in the first place. Augmenting myself with chakra didn’t count.

I paused. Chakra, huh. My conversation with Hibiki came back to me. He wanted me careful above all else, less I end up the same way every other kekkai genkai user ended up. A terrifying thought, really. From what I remembered, even Haku’s family was hunted down because his mother had the Ice Release--

Wait.

WAIT.

I have the Ice Release. It’s the kekkai genkai of the Hanayuki Clan. Haku has the Ice Release. His mother had the kekkai genkai. 

Was his mother part of our clan?

No, no. I had some other things to think about. For example, I wanted to play with my newfound abilities. How I was going to do that, I had no idea. The last time I even had a smidgen of power was my own sheer visceral reaction to being grabbed and told off. How was I supposed to tap back into that when I was calm?

“There you are. Sensei was wondering where you vanished off to.” I turned to see Hibiki, dressed and prepared for the day, coming through the trees. His hair wasn’t tied back, though, which was kind of strange. The way it moved reminded me of strands of gold floating from a weave.

“Morning, Hibiki,” I replied. “Sorry I worried you or Sensei. I just wanted a moment of privacy out here.”

“It’s quite crowded in there, isn’t it?” he mused. Faintly, I recognized his eyes on my bare feet. “What are you actually doing?”

“Well...”

I didn’t need to go on. “Experimenting out here is pretty safe. Cool weather and early morning dew can hide your ice pretty well.” He saw the shift in my feet when I looked away and I heard him sigh. “Well, at least you got yourself away from everyone else. That should be enough.”

“Did you want to help or drag me for being a dip?”

Hibiki laughed, full bodied and surprisingly warm. “No, no, I’m not here to tease you. I wanted to let you know breakfast is coming up, so we should head back. The kiddos from Konoha look like they’ll eat themselves sick.”

Oh, if only he knew that was exactly what would happen. I went to walk with him, but a sudden idea hit me. “Actually, ah. Before we go?”

He cocked his head at me.

“Could you help me figure out some things with my kekkai genkai? I really have no idea how to access it.”

That made Hibiki frown. “Was me grabbing you the first time you used your Ice Release?”

I nodded. “It only really came out when I was upset. Do I need to do something specifically? Do I need to think about something specifically? Like,” I posed, shoved my fist in the air, and hollered, “ICE RELEASE!” After I did that, however, I realized how very, very stupid I must seem.

Hibiki covered his mouth, but I could hear his laugh and see his shoulders shaking. Wait, was he laughing at me? I pouted fiercely, and that just earned me more laughter.

“Oh, fine! Just act like I didn’t ask anything!”

He waved a hand at me, still hiding his laughter, “No, no no, it’s okay! I just, oh my God, that was so funny. I thought you’d end up posing too!”

I stuck my tongue out at him.

“Hey, I thought it was really something! Don’t ever stop being funny.”

I couldn’t hold back my pout. “It wasn’t that funny...” 

It took him a moment to settle down, but Hibiki quickly readdressed me. “Alright, I can help with the chakra concerns. After breakfast though.”

That was more than enough for me. 

The first thing Kasumi said to us when Hibiki and I walked back was “What took you so long, Biki?” Wait, let me adjust that. First thing she said to Hibiki. I only rolled my eyes at the nonsense and kicked off my shoes (not like I actually did anything in them; I just didn’t want to let anyone know I was in my bare feet outside.)

He shrugged, slipping off his shoes as we stepped into the house. “Just talked to Aoi for a little bit.”

“Aoi...” She lead off, like she expected him to continue and make my name “Aohime.”

“Aoi,” he replied. There was a firmness in his tone that simply didn’t allow for a moment of argument. Hibiki stretched out his arms as Kasumi stared in slack-jawed shock. “What’s for breakfast? I hope it’s fish or something.” He proceeded then to walk right by her, not paying any mind to her.

I don’t think I had ever seen Kasumi look so dumbfounded. You honestly would have thought Hibiki dropped some kind of bombshell on her. She didn’t even say anything when I walked past her. It actually took her a solid few seconds to register I was several steps ahead of her. Once Kasumi did, however, she grabbed my arm to stop me.

“Can I help you?” 

“What did you do to Hibiki?”

“I didn’t do anything. We’ve just been talking lately.”

“About what?” Kasumi hissed. “You’ve never had anything to talk about with him. You’re already engaged to someone! Just leave him alone!”

I glared and yanked my arm away. “Hibiki and I are just being friendly. Quit acting like he’s yours.”

“Because he  _ is  _ mine!”

Oh, my god. What was even her issue?! “I’m pretty sure if I talked to him about him being yours, he’d have something to say about it.” Kasumi immediately went quiet. I didn’t want to argue anymore, since I was hungry and there was food waiting for me. 

Meeting up outside after breakfast was easy. Whatever was eating at Kasumi left her silent and unwilling to cause any scenes, and Hibiki was busy practicing his sword swings. That gave me time to observe the little ones from Konoha. For the most part, Team Seven stayed pretty still, with the only exception being Naruto bouncing around excitedly at the prospect of training. Sasuke stayed further back, avoiding the gazes of anyone else around and brooding. 

Sakura, though... she surprised me. Once I came out dressed (mostly. I just threw a loose sleeveless shirt and my black ninja pants over my unitard), she actually came over to me right away.

“Excuse me! You’re Aoi, right?”

I grinned ear to ear. “Yep, the one and only!”

Her eyes lit up. Honest to God, she was so cute right then. “Kakashi-sensei said we’d get to train with Sumire-sensei today. Is that right?”

That was discussed at the table. With Kakashi nursing a broken arm, he couldn’t teach the short stops. “Sounds like. Didja have a question about her?”

She nodded. “Do you know what she’ll teach us? Sensei told us she’s a really great ninja in the Land of Water and we should respect her, but what would she want us to do?”

“Good question,” I hummed. “I actually don’t know. Since you guys are still genin, I’d gamble she’d want you working on basics like water or tree walking. And she’s probably asking your sensei what he was wanting you to work on.”

She slumped. I guess she hoped we’d go over some awesome new stuff or whatever. But this convo actually offered me a little window.

“Hey, ah. How did he break his arm? I know you said your team faced Zabuza, but he was the only who was injured. You and the boys got away with no injuries.”

She gave a little nod. “Well, it was Naruto’s fault, really.”

Huh?

“When Zabuza came after us, Naruto pulled a kunai to try to stop him, but the sword was too heavy and sensei had to use his strength to support him. Zabuza must have pushed down or something, because we heard a huge snap and sensei’s arm was in two places.” Sakura then sighed. “That was when a ninja hunter used a bunch of senbon to kill Zabuza and took him away.”

Wait... this wasn’t how the story went the first time around. A snapped arm? Kakashi wasn’t banged up as heavily in the original manga. And Zabuza didn’t attack Naruto either. “Sounds like your sensei really cares about you guys.”

Sakura grimaced. “He’s always late! And reading these weird books! And can’t be honest about his thoughts! And works us really hard!”

Okay, that was pretty accurate.

“But... he’s always been good to us.”

That was different too. “Can I ask how?”

“Well,” she hummed. “Sensei buys us lunch once in a while when we do missions at home. And he’s been teaching all of us really well. And he’s Naruto’s guardian, so there is that.”

WAIT.

“His legal guardian?”

Sakura shrugged. “Something about Naruto’s parents asking him to take care of him. We don’t know more than that.”

That was COMPLETELY out of the original story. How did that change? It sure as hell wasn’t me who did anything. I wanted to go ask Kakashi questions now, consequences be damned, but it was then Sumire-sensei and he came out of the house. My questions would need to wait.

“Good morning, little monsters,” Kakashi cheerfully chirped. “As you may know, I am currently without an arm to corral you all with. So instead, I’ve recruited Sumire-sensei to work with you today. You lot better behave for her.”

The younger trio chirped a “yes, sensei” and looked expectantly over to Sumire-sensei. She grinned at them, raised a finger, and then turned to her own team. “I know you three have your own things to do, so I’ll be quick. Kakashi will be staying with Tatsumaki and her family today so he can spend time recovering.”

Somehow, I knew it translated to ‘ _ Kakashi will be watching the civilians today.’ _

“I will be taking the kids out in the forest to work on a new skill for them. Gotta make sure there’s an adult around to scold as needed.”

_ I will be watching out for any signs of Zabuza by pretending to babysit these kids. _

“I expect you three to work on your own skills and keep an eye on Tazuna.”

That didn’t need translating.

Hibiki raised a curious hand. “Sensei, did you want us out on the bridge and with the other workers?”

She shook her head. “Just make sure you can get to them if they need you.”

_ Do not let them out of your sight. _

“Yes, sensei.”

Well, that ended up not happening. Once Sensei was off with Team Seven in tow and Kakashi was back with Tatsumaki and everyone else, Kasumi turned on me.

“You don’t need to come with us to the bridge,” she informed me. “Just stay here and work on your skills.”

“Excuse me, but did you not hear Sumire-sensei?” I snapped. “She wants all of us there and ready to help.”

She huffed and moved beside Hibiki--who looked immensely annoyed. “What help would you be right now? Do you even know how to properly do a shadow clone? Or switch with wood? Or anything like that?”

“You know I’ve been working on those skills and getting better!”

“But could you take on a missing nin?” she questioned. “You may have been working hard these last few months, but Hibiki and I have been training as proper ninja for  _ years.  _ What makes you think you could stand by us as you are right now?”

I paused. No, I couldn’t. I had never really gotten into a fight, or been on a mission, or even had a chance to learn. There was still so much I couldn’t do and needed to figure out. Hell, I didn’t know how to use my own chakra fully! 

“Kasumi, stop instigating her. You’re not helping any.” Hibiki sighed and turned to me, looking somewhat frustrated. “While she was out of line, Kasumi is right. Why don’t you stick around here and work on things? Tonight, when we get back, I’ll work with you on stuff again.”

I didn’t want to argue. Still, I slumped and replied, “Alright, Hibiki.”

Kasumi smirked at me as Hibiki turned and started off toward the bridge. “Really, it’s a good thing you know how useless you are right now. Just let the actual ninja do their job.” She flounced away, catching up to Hibiki quickly and walking side by side with him.

It felt like a bomb wanted to go off in my chest. I couldn’t fight Kasumi’s words, even if I wanted to. Hanayuki Aohime slacked off and caused trouble for others all the time. She wasn’t a good ninja.

However, I would be.

Which is how I spent a solid hour meditating to poses, humming random songs I could remember, and not allowing my frustration to boil over. My teacher used to tell me that, when someone insulted me or treated me poorly, I should turn my anger into effort so when I’m shining brighter than them, they won’t realize where they went wrong. I had no intention of letting Kasumi be right about me.

I was balancing on an  _ attitude  _ when I heard shoes on the grass nearby. However, it wasn’t a scary missing ninja or Gato’s goons coming up; it was Sakura. But there were clearly some tears in her eyes. I fell from my pose to flat feet and hustled to her.

“Hey, what’s the matter? I thought you were with Sumire-sensei?” Did Sasuke say something?

She shook her head and wiped her eyes with her arm. “Y-yeah, I was, I... We did tree walking, and Sumire-sensei said I did a really good job and wanted me to practice with Hibiki-san and Kasumi-san.” 

Well, that was a change too. Kakashi just sent Sakura to look after Tazuna when she mastered tree walking, but my sensei wanted her to show other people since she was so strong.

But then Sakura sniffled. “But, but Kasumi-san said I shouldn’t show something off I just learned, since she could tell I was still not doing it perfectly and it made me look really dumb and childish and that I should come look after Kakashi-sensei.”

Oh, no. I was going to beat Kasumi up. How dare she make her cry! Without thinking right, I wrapped her against me. 

“Aoi-san?” she gasped.

“Don’t you dare feel bad about showing people a new skill,” I informed her. “You mastered something brand new and you should be proud.”

Sakura was so tiny... I could wrap my hands on their opposite sides. But I just held her, wondering when she’d push me away. Instead of that, though... I heard a hiccup and felt tiny hands bunch up my shirt around my back. The tiny kid in my arms shivered in her hiccups. 

“I’m gonna ruin your shirt...”

“Shirts can be washed,” I soothed. “Just get what you’re feeling out and then you can show me how well you tree walk.”

She did.

Part of me wondered if the original author knew how emotional kids were. They didn’t think straight, had feelings that burned them inside and out. Sakura was a ninja, true, but she was still so little compared to where she’d go. Indulging her with a few tears of frustration wasn’t a crime. Once she was ready to wipe her face with a cloth, Sakura happily showed me exactly how good she was at tree walking.

“Damn,” I admitted. “You have some excellent chakra control.”

She eagerly hopped down, eyes bright at my way. “You really think so?!”

“Absolutely! And you got this down really fast!”

Sakura tapped her index fingers together. “Ah... Sumire-sensei said I did a good job too. The boys were still struggling.”

That was familiar. “Chakra control isn’t easy. You can have all the chakra in the world, but if you can’t properly control it, then it’s nearly useless.”

My compliments made her wiggle in excitement. There we go. She needed someone to perk her up, really. Once she settled though, Sakura did ask, “What were you working on? I’ve never seen leg movements like that.”

“Do you mean the leg exercises?” 

“Yeah. What exercise is that?” She paused, then covered her mouth. “Is it some special clan secret? I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

“No, no! I’m glad you did.” I quickly raised back up onto a heel-touching first position  _ demi-pointe,  _ sending a gentle push of strength into my thighs. “Was this what you meant?”

“It is! That must take a lot of chakra to do.”

I shook my head, shifting down and back into second position, feet spread out shoulder-width. “I honestly don’t think it does. I’m mostly using my chakra to heal my legs so I can build my muscle a little quicker.”

“That sounds like chakra control too.”

Huh. I didn’t really think about it like that. I suppose it did take a lot of control to stay steady on my toes. I mused to myself, but glanced back to Sakura. She was trying to push up onto her own toes. “Hey, be careful there. You could really hurt yourself.”

Sakura glanced up, then went back down on her flat feet. “Sorry.”

Wait. Seeing her do that gave me an idea. I held out my hands to Sakura, offering a little smile with it. “Here, why do I teach you myself?”

“Are... you sure? I mean...”

I nodded. “Of course. I don’t mind teaching somebody. It sounds like it’ll be good for both of us.”

She stared at my outstretched hands for a moment. I could see the apprehension in her face. Thankfully, it faded away, and she accepted.

“Alright, kick off your ninja shoes. Let’s start with the basics...”

As I suspected, Sakura was a quick study. By the time night fell, she had memorized all five foot positions and arm positions and could recall them on a dime--yen? She’s a brilliant girl and spent much of our time together asking questions. I was starting her on  _ demi-pointe  _ poses when Sensei returned with the boys in tow. 

"Sakura? Aoi-chan? What are you two doing here?"

Without prompting, Sakura dropped out of her  _ demi-pointe  _ and hustled over to her. She bowed her head at Sumire-sensei. Her tiny "I'm sorry, sensei" was so soft I was amazed i could hear it.

Sumire-sensei brought her gaze back up to me. Her confusion about burned a hole in me. "Later," I mouthed. My teacher pursed her lips a moment before she properly smiled. Sumire-sensei patted Sakura’s shoulder, a warm smiling spreading on her usually chilled features.

"Alright, let’s head in then. I’m certain Tatsumaki-san has started on a meal for us.”

She did. Since there was such a big crowd in the house now, she and her daughter Tsunami had made noodle bowls with pass around toppings. She needed a little more time, though, so I sat with Sakura at the table with a small sketchpad.

“You’ll need to keep your back straight with the positions,” I explained, pointing to a doodle of a stick figure I hastily made. “A lot of pressure is put down on your feet and legs in  _ demi-pointe.  _ I bet you felt it when we were working.”

Sakura nodded. “So I need perfect posture along with strength?”

“Not perfect per say, but having an understanding of how your body wants to work and where you want to put your weight is an important step.”

“It would help my chakra flow too...”

Why was she so smart? “It would! A straight stick pokes faster than a bended one.”

She looked back up at me, face a mess of confusion.

“Don’t mind that, just made it up.”

Briefly, I thought Sakura would make a weird face at me, but instead she covered her mouth in a giggle. It took her a second to reply, but when she did? Her green eyes were bright and sweet and full of happiness. “You’re weird,” she informed me, and her laughter wrapped around the words.

Well, I couldn’t mind that. 

The front door opened again, and Sakura’s face fell. Kasumi and Hibiki walked in first, both yawning. Tazuna followed them, exhaustion painted on his face. Was the bridge wearing him down faster?

“We’re back,” Kasumi called. She noticed Sakura and I at the table, discussing something, and I saw her roll her eyes. “Oh, just you two. Where’s sensei?”

“Helping Tatsumaki-san finish dinner,” I informed her. “Long day?”

She shrugged. “Of course. Not all of us get the pleasure of slacking off.”

I glared.

“What? Don’t put on some dramatic airs. You just spent the day laying in the sunshine and doing nothing.”

“That’s not true,” Sakura replied. Her voice was soft and almost shivering, but she still said something. “Aoi-chan and I spent the whole day working together on chakra control.”

Kasumi arched one of her brows at her. She stared her down like Sakura was some kind of bug, and it took all my energy not to reach out and smack her. “Honestly, kids,” she sighed. “Just because you get caught doing nothing doesn’t mean you should lie about it.”

“But I wasn’t!”

My asshole teammate shook her head. “Yes yes, I get it, you worked very hard today and did your best.” Her placating, gentle tone made my stomach curl.

As much as I wanted to shout at her, I couldn’t. Instead, I wrapped an arm around Sakura and pulled her against me again. She immediately accepted the embrace, letting out a small whine. Kasumi shot me a glare worthy of murder, but she had lost my respect long ago. “Go sit down,” I told her through grit teeth. “I’m sure dinner will be done soon.”

I didn’t let go of Sakura until Kasumi finished staring at me, turned around, and marched straight to the table. Once I did, I quickly assessed her expression. Hurt, frustration, sadness; all three took center stage on her features. I cupped her cheek, making her look up.

“Hey,” I murmured. “Don’t listen to her. Kasumi’s a jerk.”

She nodded.

“Do you want me to say something to Sumire-sensei?”

Sakura froze for a moment. I don’t think she expected me to ask if she’d like me to do something instead of just doing it. Another thing Konoha needed to deal with: autonomy with their ninjas. Once she thought it over, she looked back up at me. “Only... only if your sensei asks. I don’t want you to lie to her.”

That earned her a smile and a brief peck to her cute forehead. “You got it, cherry-cherry girl.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cherry cherry boy, cherry cherry girl, come chase after me~


	5. Fifth Position

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not my favorite chapter but I know there's folks who'd enjoy this  
> EDIT: WOW I was so tired I missed several additions, my bad

Dinner... oh boy.

Hibiki and Kasumi sat opposite of myself and Sakura. The two older ninjas didn't look up much at us, which was fine with me. I wanted to enjoy the soba noodles Tatsumaki made for us. Sasuke and Naruto sat opposite each other. They had to be separated, since apparently, they spent a solid chunk of training time with Sumire-sensei being bucky and arguing with each other more than working. Kakashi seemed pleased with hearing this but, even with his busted arm, bonked both boys on the head.

“I’ll have these two go with Tazuna tomorrow,” he informed my haggard sensei. His one handed eating skills impressed me.

“Thank you,” she sighed, slurping up the noodles. “I’m far too old to deal with such rowdy children.”

“Maa, I forget you’re not the spring chicken you once were.”

“Be quiet, you old codger.” Sumire-sensei turned back to her own students. Hibiki quietly ate his small bowl carefully, like he was worried it would be snatched from him. Kasumi was busy adding in more toppings when sensei asked, “So, what did you two do all day?”

“We spent the day working on new techniques,” she informed sensei. “Hibiki’s sword swing is getting strong.”

Hibiki hummed his agreement.

“Good. Tomorrow, you’ll be with me. The small ones need something more intensive to do than harass me.” Sumire-sensei then turned to me, seated next to Sakura. “Can I ask why you two weren’t with Hibiki and Kasumi?” She was asking, but not asking permission.

Before I could speak up, Kasumi snorted. “Aohime-sama decided to stay behind since she’d be nothing but a thorn in everyone’s side.”

Excuse me?!

“And the pink one, I didn’t see her at all today.”

Sakura flinched.

How dare she?! “You liar!”

Kasumi dropped her chopsticks. The table went silent at my outburst. Naruto and Sasuke had started glaring at each other, probably ready to start eating themselves sick, but they were now too stunned to do anything.

“It’s not nice to call people liars, Aohime-sama,” Kasumi hissed.

“It’s also not nice to drop bullshit lies to get away with awful behavior,” I snapped. “Last I checked, you told me I was useless and would cause everyone trouble and made me stay behind because you didn’t want me around.” I glanced briefly at Sakura, who still had not touched her noodles. “And you lied about Sakura, too.”

“Got any proof of that?”

“How about how she came to me in tears because she tried to show you how good her chakra control was?”

“That isn’t proof!”

Sensei then spoke up. “Then why was she with Aoi when I came back instead of with you, where I told her to go?”

Kasumi went silent. Hibiki set down his bowl then and turned to her. “Kasumi. Don’t lie about things. I saw you talking to Sakura before she ran off.”

“Why are you siding with them?!” she gasped. “Those two would have been annoying thorns in our sides! You know that! I know that! Anyone who’s got half a brain knows that!”

“So,” Sumire-sensei sighed, “you went against my word and harassed not only your teammate but another genin because they would be annoying. Kasumi, I’m not happy.”

My teammates both went pale. I doubt they expected to be called out like this. Instead of looking even remotely humbled or trying to explain themselves, Kasumi turned to _me._ “This is your fault!”

“The hell? I didn’t fuck up like you did.”

“You just _had_ to tattle to sensei because I hurt your ego. God, it’s no wonder the clan thinks you’re just a stupid baby machine!”

My brain skidded to a halt at that comment. I think my jaw dropped too, but considering how I couldn’t see in color anymore at that moment, I didn’t register it.

“Please, not at the table,” Tatsumaki begged as she stood.

“Oh, didn’t you know?” she taunted, glee sliding on her face. “The only reason any of us are putting up with you is because of that seer’s prediction! All you’re good for is putting that power inside you into the next family heir.” Kasumi pointed at me then. “None of us would be here, putting up with you, is because the clan head wants you to play ninja until you’re ready to pop out babies!”

“Kasumi, stop!” Hibiki shouted.

“It’s true, though! Hibiki and I could be jonin by now if we had a real team, and Sensei is only here because they’re making her! Nobody here wants anything to do with you!”

“I do.”

Kasumi stopped her rampage and looked down at the serious kid next to me. Sakura stared daggers into the shouting teen above her, shaking under the table the whole while. I wanted to reach out and touch her leg, to show my solidarity, but would it be pushing myself too much?

“I want to be around her. When you called me a show off and chased me away, Aoi-chan made me feel better and told me I was doing a good job.” She smiled, reached out her own hand, and gripped my hovering one. “We even did chakra training the rest of the afternoon, Aoi-chan is really nice.”

Kasumi balked at her words. Why was this kid so good? I smiled back and squeezed her hand in mine.

“Konoha kunoichi must be idiots.”

Slowly, I turned to Kasumi again.

“Look at you two! Being all buddy-buddy! It must be a thing with girls made to spread their legs and continue families.”

Sakura’s eyes began to water again.

“It’s no secret your Sandaime” and her tone on the word was full of vicious mockery “likes to put female ninja between two idiots to encourage them to get better. He just thinks you lot are only good for convincing losers to work harder.”

She could insult me as much as she wanted. But Sakura? A kid?

“I guess it makes sense, two barely there ninjas being friends. Maybe once you’re both barefoot and pregnant, you two can have parties while the real ninjas do the hard work.”

No.

It happened so fast, I barely registered it myself. I pulled my hand away from Sakura’s. I surged to my feet. I grabbed a suddenly startled, terrified Kasumi by her collar. And I slammed my forehead against hers as hard as I could. The crack our skulls made boomed so loud, I wondered if we broke something. I shoved her back once the hit was made and Kasumi toppled backwards onto the floor. My face _stung_ like a bitch as I stared down at my teammate, holding her head and shaking. I didn’t care, however. My only focus was making sure Kasumi knew what she did was unacceptable.

“What... what?” Her voice came out in a high, confused squeak.

“I’ve put up with your bullshit for a long, long time, Kasumi,” I snarled. “Frankly, I didn’t care about the insults you threw at me. But attacking a ninja from another village, a younger ninja, calling her names and treating her badly, is completely out of line.”

Kasumi could only watch as I stepped around the table and toward her. Our little crowd was silent as they watched me stand over her. She shook like a leaf, jaw dropped and completely stunned.

“I should have given you an earful ages back. That’s on me. But consider this a warning.” I dropped into a crouch to look her in the eyes. “I won’t be running from your insults and cruelty anymore. And not just towards me. Anyone else I see you treating like shit, I’ll ask permission from them to knock you on your ass. I won’t tolerate this anymore.”

I leaned in, eyes focused on her wide, panicked ones.

“Am I understood?”

Kasumi didn’t respond. What she did was, in fact, haul herself to her feet and run out of the house with a door slam. The silence that filled everything broke after a few moments, when I straightened up and turned back to Tazuna and his family. Many sets of eyes stayed on me, some full of concern, some confused, and one (singular) eye watching me lazily.

“I’m so sorry,” I said with a deep bow. “I should not have allowed Kasumi to act up in a way that might deter our mission. I hope you can forgive us for this failure.”

In my bow, I heard a chair scoot out. Quiet footsteps came to me, and a gentle hand rested on my head. I glanced up to see Tatsumaki smiling at me, eyes crinkled at the edges. “You’ve endured quite a bit, haven’t you?”

“It’s, ah...”

“Don’t apologize. You three are still young. I hope you can make up with Kasumi-san soon, get your feelings out properly.” She turned back to the table, humming. “Come finish your noodles, dear. You’ll need the energy tomorrow.”

I did. As Tatsumaki and I settled back in our chairs, I glanced at everyone around me. Naruto and Sasuke both looked... confused, but thoughtful. I didn’t need to be a genius to know they had some big teenage thoughts on the brain. Sumire-sensei had a small, barely there smile on her face. Hibiki, once again, looked stoic and unmoved--until he looked up at me. His eyes were remorseful for a moment, long enough for me to register them, but he cooled off immediately.

“You know, you and Kasumi remind me of Tazuna and Inari’s other grandfather.”

Huh? Tatsumaki giggled.

“When they were teens," she began as she handed me the bowl. "Tazuna and Hayate--that’s Inari’s father’s father--used to get into fights all the time, just completely in each other’s faces. It took a big fight to make them both behave long enough to talk things out.”

Tazuna coughed but it couldn’t hide his red flushed face. “That was a long time ago, Maki...”

“I know, I have the grey hairs to prove it” she teased. “Seeing them fight it out just reminded me so much of you two.”

“Grandpa used to be like that?” Inari gasped. Huh, I had barely noticed him.

“In a way,” she sighed. “Sometimes, you need to just get things out of you. Hayate had his frustrations, Tazuna-kun his, and they needed to air them correctly. Once they did, they became very close friends.”

Tsunami hummed. “It’s true. It’s how I met your father.”

“Did you two actually fight?” Naruto asked.

“Well, it’s kinda a long story...”

Sumire-sensei chuckled around her noodles. “I wouldn’t mind waiting for a story.”

And so we got one. Tsunami laughed to the point of tears, Inari made faces worthy of acting prizes, and the remaining ninja at the table soaked up the happy atmosphere. By the time we were done, the food was cold and our hearts warm. Bedtime was easy for us all, and we settled down fairly easily. Sleep came quickly for us all. 

The morning came with us back outside, both teams watching our senseis come out of the house. After breakfast, I wasn’t surprised they told us to go wait outside. They had some things to discuss, since the night went on and things occurred.

After Kasumi came back in the wee hours of the morning, she apparently slept on the floor away from the rest of us. She sported the same goose egg I did on her forehead, with hers being a shade of black whilst mine was blue. Hibiki, Sakura, and I stood further away from her while she either pouted or just stayed silent. Naruto and Sasuke had their own thing going on too, with them staying near each other but not exactly speaking.

Then Kakashi came out with no sling on and a grin in his voice.

“So, change of plans today.”

“What kind of change?” Hibiki asked.

Sumire-sensei nodded to the two boys. “Naruto and Sasuke asked for some sparring today, so today, Sakura, Hibiki, and Aoi will be supervising the bridge.”

From the corner of my eye. Sakura deflated. I suppose she was really looking forward to me teaching her today. I gently dropped a hand on her head, rubbing the soft pink locks. She glanced up, and I grinned.

“Don’t worry, sweet pea. We still have plans for you.”

Sakura smiled up at me. “Okay.”

Hibiki spoke up. “Sensei, what about Kasumi?”

Said Kasumi flinched when Sumire-sensei came over to her. Sensei placed a hand on her shoulder; unlike my gentle touch on Sakura, however, hers was a hard clap. “Kasumi-chan and I are going to do some personal training today. Isn’t that right?”

Her voice was small when Kasumi replied, “Yes, sensei.”

Sumire-sensei grinned and clapped Kasumi’s shoulder again. “Alright, no time to wait for the thaw! Everyone, get to it!”

The bridge was, surprisingly, very close to finished. Most of the workers were already putting up brand new scaffolding and some of them were preparing wood to further support the pillars. The hustle surprised me, considering how long I thought the bridge would initially take. But the crowd of workers said otherwise as we walked over to the safest place for us.

Tazuna came over from his group of workers, patting his cheek with a towel. “Hey, you three. Admiring the work?”

“Yeah,” I admitted. “Didn’t think you’d have so much done so quickly.”

He barked a small laugh. “We wouldn’t have gotten this far without everyone helping. Especially you and yours.”

“What do you mean?”

Tazuna shrugged. “Maki--Tatsumaki to you--recruited all these folks, but had to convince everyone we would be safe. Having another team like yours kept everyone here.” He glanced over to the workers mixing concrete, then another group building support beams, and then a third sealing new paths. “I’m sure they wouldn’t stick around if we didn’t have extra protection.”

Oh. I smile, faintly, remembering this mission took much, much longer before. Tazuna was doing the work almost by himself. But here, he had more folks helping. “I suppose they want what you want, too. Freedom.”

He nodded.

Sakura tugged gently on my hand. I glanced her way and oh, those big green eyes killed me. “Aoi-chan, what exercises did you want me to do today?”

Hmm. Faintly, I wondered if my plans for her were too much. Once I decided, however, that she could handle it, I grinned. “Well, it’s an exercise we both will be doing.”

She lit up.

“I want you to help the workers put new support lines into the bridge.”

She slumped.

“Ah ah, no making that face. I want you to do just that... the whole day, while on your _demipointe_ channeling your chakra into your legs.”

That made her gulp. I wondered if she’d run away, get scared, flee... but my sweet pea was much braver than I could imagine, and she nodded furiously. I grinned back at her and, in a moment of affection, I leaned down to give her a little headbutt. One much, much more gentle than how I headbutted Kasumi. 

“Atta girl. Get to it.”

I watched her pop up onto _demipointe_ and hustle off.

Hibiki tapped my shoulder as I watched. “Was that what you were doing with her yesterday?”

I nodded. “Seems unconventional, huh?”

“It does. Looks like good exercise, though. Channeling chakra isn’t an easy task for someone so young.”

I popped onto my own _demipointe,_ grinning all the while. “Don’t doubt my sweet pea.”

He shook his head, a smile forming on his face. “Absolutely not.”


	6. Petite Saute

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Petite saut-- A small jump
> 
> Alright, we'll be on a biweekly chapter basis now that I'm in classes again, so do enjoy! Next chapter will be up on the 20th!

Training that day felt like a small eternity. My own legs ached halfway through the day and I appreciated giving both myself and Sakura some reprieve with a bento lunch. Everyone sat on the shore edge, eating their meals, and our crowd was happily doing so too. Tatsumaki apparently sent bentos with Tsunami for us all, since she knew we were all working extremely hard.

Tazuna scarfed his bento down like a kid. 

“Is your wife’s cooking really so tasty?”

He tapped his mouth with his shirt collar. “Of course. She’s always been an excellent cook.” He set the empty box down and leaned back, sighing. “She keeps me going, keeps me brave.”

I paused around my bite of rice. “What do you mean by keeping you brave?”

“This bridge,” he began, “was partially her idea.”

Woah. I glanced at Hibiki, who raised a brow at me.

“After Inari’s father died, we decided to hit Gato where it hurt--his monopoly. This bridge is built in his memory and honor, so no one will suffer under him again.” He gave a sadder smile. “We both loved him and we love Inari, too. This is for his future.”

“Will the bridge really stop him, though?”

All of us looked at Hibiki. He chewed thoughtfully on a chopstick, eyes kind of off focus. Tazuna was the first to speak.

“What do you mean, kid?”

“We have a saying in Hyobogakure,” Hibiki explained. “‘The surface of the ice does not tell how deep it has frozen.’ It means that you shouldn’t think you know what to do just by looking at one or two things. Understanding the depth of a problem ensures you know the right process to take.”

Tazuna glared at him. “And you don’t think the bridge will be enough to stop Gato?”

“I think it will help,” he replied, “but it won’t fully deal with the main issue. Gato is the one hurting so many people with his brute force and bad behavior. If you want to deal with Gato...”

“...You need to directly deal with Gato?” I finished.

“Exactly.”

“Easier said than done, kiddo.” Tazuna took off his glasses and rubbed away some faint dust. “We could barely afford a D-rank and a C-rank team. Hiring mercenaries to deal with him directly is impossible.”

Hibiki smiled--and his grin somehow sent a chill through me. “Maybe you just need a good opportunity to deal with him.”

Tazuna actually seemed to think about it all. He stayed quiet a few minutes more, soaking everything up. I glanced at Hibiki again. What possessed him to say that? I hated Gato too, considering the kind of man he was, but... he just encouraged Tazuna to straight up murder him. Would that even work?

It seemed like, however, Tazuna didn’t linger like I did. He stood instead and stretched out once more. “Alright, time to get back to it. Oi! Finish up, all of you! We’re going on!”

Well, at least he wasn’t upset. Hibiki and I stood too and I looked around for Sakura. She was finishing her tea, it seemed like. “Sweet pea!”

She looked over.

“Back on the toes!”

Her whine made me giggle. Nevertheless, she still stood up and got back on her to  _ demi pointe  _ again. I had a suspicion she was getting sore.

“You’re turning into a sadistic sensei,” Hibiki remarked.

“I can’t be that bad.”

“You giggled when you saw her go back onto her feet.”

“I did not.”

He laughed, and suddenly, I wasn’t thinking about his words anymore. I was just happy he was my friend, finally.

“Alright, now you get a lesson too.”

Or not.

As it turned out, Hibiki knew how to teach me about my kekkai genkai without being seen. His lesson? Pulling on specific chakra inside myself. As we kept an eye on the workers (and I kept watch on Sakura), he had me frequently looking into myself and finding my chakra.

“I can use my chakra already,” I insisted.

Hibiki shook his head. “There’s something special about chakra for a kekkai genkai. It’s like a combination of two different kinds of chakra, and by combining, it becomes something else altogether.”

“More than the sum of its parts, right?”

He nodded. “The best way to hone your skill is by calling on both right away separately. It ensures that they can move separately before you try pulling them together.” He patted my head, smiling. “Baby steps.”

“But what kind of chakra do I even have?”

“Same as the other wielders, I suppose,” he shrugged. “My release is wind and earth. Yours would be water and wind.”

That’s fair. So that’s what I did. I pulled my chakra into my hands separate from the rest of my body, learning what each felt like. Chakra, for how important it was in the series, was barely explored in concept. It’s supposed to be the life force of the world! I discovered how each felt, the smell, the way a taste bubbled in my mouth each time I pulled them up. By the end of the day, however, I felt colder than I did at home and exhausted.

Sakura was a champ. She handled being on her  _ demi-pointe  _ the rest of the day and barely complained. Good to see her working on building up her chakra and physical strength. When nightfall hit, though, she dropped onto her feet and groaned. The only one of us remotely fine was Hibiki, who just enjoyed helping out Tazuna with moving things around. 

Something was up, however, when we got home. Sumire-sensei and Kasumi were home. Tsunami, Tatsumaki, and Inari were home. But Kakashi and his two kids were not. The only not odd thing about that fact was that Tatsumaki had dinner ready for us.

"No Kakashi yet?" I asked Sumire-sensei as we settled down.

She gave a lazy, shooing hand gesture. "I don't know what he's doing or where he's at either. They'll just need to enjoy whatever we save for them."

"Will they be alright though?" Tatsumaki tittered a touch.

Sensei smiled; it was the same cold smile I saw on Hibiki earlier, only even more icy. "Kakashi is a fine ninja. He'll handle whatever comes his way."

Nobody replied to that. We just ate the small meal Tatsumaki made for us, quiet and tired out. Kasumi didn't even look up from her food once. A few times i feared she'd simply fall asleep mid bite. Whatever Sumire-sensei put her through must have drained her more than our training drained us. Well, I didn't think too much on it. Sensei surely was angry with Kasumi too.

I didn't start worrying until bedtime, and still Kakashi wasn't back yet. Doing the dishes took longer with me off in concerned Aoi land. Was he hurt? Or did they get attacked again? The Demon Brothers were still around...

"Aoi-chan."

Sumire-sensei's question pulled me out of whatever world my brain put me in. "Sorry, Sensei," I replied and returned to wiping off the dish.

"Don't worry about it." She waved me off and hip checked me. "If you're worried, then go wait for them outside."

"You don't mind?"

She shook her head. "Do whatever you need to for comfort. Besides, of anyone who needs a watchful eye, Hatake Kakashi is a top candidate."

So I did. While everyone else headed to bed, curled up and hidden, I waited on a stump a few feet outside the house. My body was sore, I was exhausted, but I wanted to make sure he came back with the boys. Dangerous times, after all.

The last specks of daylight had faded when a tall figure came walking into my view. I whistled in greeting, but no reply. I did it again and again, utter silence. He just kept coming toward me. I stood, suddenly panicked. I couldn't tell who or what was coming with the darkness... and it wasn't saying anything. I reached to my hip to grab a kunai--

And then one of the large figure's cargo shifted. And let out a high sigh, so long and loud I immediately knew who made it and who was carrying them. 

"...Kakashi?"

Once he was closer, I finally saw why he was so quiet. Both boys were curled up in an arm each, both beaten up and red faced and sleeping nestled each on one of Kakashi's shoulders. Naruto probably had a black eye. Sasuke had scratches on his upper arms and dried blood under his nose.

"Oh my God, what happened?" I asked, holding my arms out to him. Kakashi shifted Sasuke, who was sleeping on his broken arm, into my grasp.

"They asked me to watch them spar," he explained in a hushed voice. "They ended up just pounding each other for hours and getting some things off their chests."

"And you didn't try to stop them from beating the absolute hell out of each other?!" I asked, voice high but equally quiet.

Kakashi gave me a look; I couldn't really tell what it was supposed to be. But he did reply, "Ninja don't get many... outlets. For anything. Self destructive behaviors kill on the battlefield. Chasing pleasure leaves you vulnerable. Letting these two fight their anger out was the best I can give them."

I... didn't think about that. He was right, yeah, but still. Having two traumatized kids fight? Just so they aren't bogged down? How is that even supposed to work? I didn't get it at all!

Sasuke shifted in my arms and made a sad little noise too. His dried nose sniffled. Even in his obvious pain... he looked like sleep was sheer bliss. Like everything had finally calmed down in his heart. 

Maybe it just wasn't something meant for me to understand.

"Do you see it?" Kakashi whispered. "He's less stressed now. I haven't seen Sasuke ever sleep like that."

I frowned slightly. "...This doesn't seem like a good constant, but... I'm glad he got whatever was weighing him down was off his chest."

Kakashi smiled. I dunno how I could tell, what with that mask, but he did. "Atta girl. Let's put these two to bed. I'm starving."

“Lucky for you, we saved some food. You’ll need to eat three servings, though.”

"Three servings?"

"Don't want to waste the food Tatsumaki made for us."

"Tell me it's good though."

"Broiled fish, greens, miso soup, and rice."

“Not the worst thing I’ve had to eat.”

We had a little chuckle as we headed into the house. Everyone else was out like a light, which made moving around much easier. The boys barely moved from the futons we set them on, blissfully healing from their wounds. Naruto had a derpy smile on his face the whole time. Kakashi and I stepped out of their room, and we both sighed.

"Was Sakura good today?"

I blinked. "Oh, yes. She helped the workers set up scaffolding all day and we worked on chakra control together."

Kakashi tilted his head like a curious puppy. "What kind of exercise did you have her doing?"

I grinned. "Stayed on tiptoe and channeling minute threads of chakra into her legs."

That made him blink. "All day?"

"And no complaints."

The copycat ninja hummed, thoughtful seeming. Once he did speak, he surprised me.

"Did you work with her?"

"I was on my toes too, not to worry. Only fair, after all."

He went quiet for a moment. It wasn't long, though, because he lifted my hand up in one of his. A unsurprisingly warm thumb pressed into my palm. My heart was screaming as he watched my pulse jump.

"You're very cold," he remarked, calm and at ease, like he was discussing the weather, "yet today was hot."

I nodded, dumber than a box of rocks.

His eye crinkled in a smile. The boyish goofiness in it left me without words. Kakashi leaned in, mask lingering beside my ear. My cheeks turned red and the heat burned through me faster than I expected.

And then he blew hot air into my ear. I yelped and he chuckled.

"Wear gloves next time, Kitten. Wouldn’t want you freezing out here.”

With that, he pulled back and breezed past me. I’m pretty sure my face looked less human and more like a giant tomato. Once I felt truly alone, I covered my face with my hands.

Oh, my God. When was Kakashi such a flirt?! He never acted like that in the manga! From what I saw online in passing, he was a lifelong bachelor. Why did he just... Do that? Did he think I’m cute or something? Was he messing with me? And sensei! He knew my sensei and teased her in a very familiar, affectionate way!

I just didn’t understand anymore.

_ Moonlight on a lake. _

_ I remember this place. A wide lake, surrounded by conifer trees, still and silent.  _

_ No sounds around. No words spoken. Unneeded, unwanted. _

_ “You. You’re taking too long.” _

I briefly opened my eyes. The room was still pitch black and only faint shapes were visible. What did I see in my dream? A lake?

"Fuck it," I grumbled. With that decision made, I rolled over and fell back into the blackness of sleep


	7. Developpe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Developpe-- "To developpe" Moving one leg up to the knee of the standing leg and slowly extending it in the air, holding the hips square according to the direction the dancer is facing.

I don’t think I really understood how long the Land of Waves mission actually lasted. Three weeks passed fast, each day coming in and out. Between training and watching over Tazuna’s family, I didn’t have much time to linger on anything. Which I was fine with. Life just progressed and, somehow, it was soothing. A lot changed in a ‘stick a hunk of pork in a slow cooker and don’t check on it’ kind of way. Everything just happened in succession, but no sudden changes. It just occurred easily, because it just felt right. 

It started with Naruto and Sasuke. After their dumb fight (which might not have been dumb for them), they stopped being super bratty at each other. Sasuke greeted Naruto in the morning and he always smiled back. Naruto accepted Sasuke’s advice, no matter how harsh, but usually with a good amount of sass. They bickered back and forth, but the malice was gone. It seemed more like they were friends than enemies, finally.

Sakura changed too. She scolded them for being ridiculous after that fight and looking like they took hammers to each other’s faces, but after a meal, they were all good with each other. Sasuke even asked her about her chakra control training, how that was going. Watching them eat breakfast and talking (well, Naruto and Sakura talked, Sasuke grunted and interjected once in a while) was wonderful.

Didn’t stop them from attempting to out-eat each other and drag poor Sakura into their shenanigans.

“Sensei looked really mad...” she whined, face pressed into my pillow.

“He was,” I reminded her and gently rubbed her back. “You and the boys wasted a lot of food and made a huge mess too.”

That earned me another whine.

“Really though, what possessed you to join their shenanigans? We all knew they’d make themselves sick. Tatsumaki even prepared puke buckets for them.”

Sakura lifted her head weakly. Getting sick off of noodles and broth must have been draining. “I dunno...” she sighed, dropping her head again and whining. I was gonna need to wash that.

I sighed. As I rubbed her back, I asked, “Did you at least have fun?”

My sweetpea turned her head to look at me.

“We both know eating til you’re sick isn’t worth it,” I mused gently. “But did you at least have fun with your friends?”

She.. actually seemed to think about it. I let her, taking a minute to pull up the blanket on the bed and went to the small light on a nightstand. After I finished blowing it out and began to leave, she spoke up.

“Yeah... it was worth it...”

I smiled. “Good. Now don’t do it again.” As I stepped out and shut the door, she whined something at me. It might have been agreeing with me, or telling me not to mention it again, but it still made me smile.

Outside her room, Kakashi leaned against a wall. Once the door was shut, he asked, “How is she?”

“Probably will be sore tomorrow and may never eat noodles again without shuddering.”

He snorted. “I would figure. Both Naruto and Sasuke are suffering the aftereffects.”

“I would figure,” I laughed. 

Silence fell between us. 

Kakashi was an... enigma. I couldn’t read his face, or his voice, or his body language. There was nothing I could tell about him. Did he mind me? Was he teasing me? Or was he just playing around? 

“You think too much.”

I jolted at his blasé voice, but pouted at his words. “Seriously? Rude.” He chuckled behind his mask. Really, I couldn’t work with this guy as far as reading him. “I should probably get to bed soon.”

“You’ll need it,” he agreed lightly. “Considering you’ll be training Sakura more tomorrow.”

I cocked my head. “Not gonna go easy on them?”

“Absolutely not.”

My team changed too, oddly enough.

Kasumi, for the most part, avoided me. I would suspect sensei was making sure she didn’t have any energy to cause trouble. Most of her days were breakfast, sensei dragging her away for some kind of training, dinner, and crashing soon after. It was rare she’d be able to stay awake more than an hour after eating. Whatever Sumire-sensei was doing made sure arguing and causing trouble for anyone was the very last thing she'd dream up.

Not that I minded. I had bigger worries. 

Hibiki and I changed in those days. Early mornings and late evenings were dedicated to training my kekkai genkai in the clearing I found. Much to my surprise and despite our differing skills, Hibiki was an excellent teacher. With each day, I understood my kekkai genkai more. 

And yet, somehow, there was even less I understood.

“It just feels like I still don’t get anything,” I grumbled around my tea cup. “I think I have something, but then it's like, surprise, you actually don't."

Beside me, Hibiki set down his own cup. We were just taking a break, sipping. He gave me a sympathetic pat on the back.

“Was it like this when you trained yours?"

He paused. “Well, I had more help. There were older children in my orphanage who had the metal release, so they taught everyone younger than them. I was fortunate enough to learn some basic skills before my adoption went through.” 

I nodded. 

“My skills, like my swordsmanship and my fighting style? That’s something I learned on my own.”

“Is everyone’s experience different with the release?”

He shrugged. “It depends. Some made their release part of their weaponry like I did. Some just use it like standard chakra. It's the dealer's choice.”

I sipped my tea again. 

“But,” he sighed, “this does mean you’ll need to craft your own fighting style.”

“And it’s not like I can look to another user to create it, huh?”

Hibiki nodded back. “I’m certain you’ll figure something out, though.”

I glanced up from my cup. “What do you mean?”

His grin revealed an oddly sharp canine. “It’s you we’re talking about. Lately, you’ve found your footing and surprising everyone.”

Heh. Oh, if only he knew.

“Let’s go get some rest, though.” Hibiki stood, stretching himself out into the cooling air. “Tomorrow’s another day in paradise.”

There was one thing I wanted to address with Sumire-sensei. Exactly how did she know Kakashi? Considering how she kept busy nearly every day, it wasn’t easy to get time with her. I had to watch and wait for the best moment to ask her. It felt a little stalkerish, to be frank.

I did manage to steal some time with her one morning. Tatsumaki asked us to do dishes while she and Tsunami went into the market for something (pork?), so it was just us in the kitchen. I washed, she dried and put away. The domesticity wasn’t lost on me.

Words clung to my throat a few times. What if she said something I didn't want to hear? What did I want to hear? The idea of romancing him... wasn't remotely in my head at that moment. I was still engaged to the clan head’s son, from another village, and he was a few years older than me. Sure, I was seventeen in Aoi’s body, but I knew I was older in my original body. Twenty-five? Thirty, even? I had not recovered that memory yet. But that wasn’t the point. The point was I needed to know what kind of relationship Kakashi and she had.

I just had to try.

“Sensei?”

Sumire-sensei stopped wiping the pot. “I was wondering when you’d open your mouth.”

What?

She turned her gentle gaze my way. “You’re very easy to read.”

Ok, that just made me pout. My cheeks puffed up in irritation at her teasing, which just made her laugh. 

“Now, no need to get fussy. I didn’t say you being easy to read was a bad thing.” She put the pot down and leaned onto the counter. “What’s on your mind, Aoi?”

Great, there went my courage. Sensei didn’t rush me to find it again. Once I did manage to pull my words up again, though, I managed to speak.

“Sensei, what’s your relationship with Kakashi?”

"We slept together."

I think my brain went to static at that. I couldn't find words and my mouth hung open. The plate in my hands looked very interesting. It was the only place I could look without having a minor panic attack.

But I looked at Sensei again. She shot me a grin and said, with a teasing lit, "Gotcha."

A beat. Then another. 

"Sensei!"

Sumire-sensei burst into laughter; it was so forceful that she was half bent over the counter. My demands of her name were lost in her giggles. After a few minutes, I pouted and resigned myself to waiting for her to settle. 

Once she did, wiping an imaginary tear from her eye, I gave her the most stern, irritated look I could. "That wasn't funny!"

"Really? I thought it was."

I pouted more, but that just made her snicker into the countertop. She didn’t laugh as long as she did last time, so it was very easy to just wait for her. Sumire-sensei grinned at me again, clearly pleased with my reaction. 

“Relax, Aoi-chan,” she placated, patting my arm. “I was just teasing you, since you’re making such cute faces.”

“Seriously, sensei?”

Her smile was full of teasing and affection. “I absolutely did not sleep with him, sweetheart.”

“Are you sure?” That was a stupid question.

“I’m very sure,” she assured me, “because I’m a lesbian.”

Oh. Well, that I didn’t expect. At all. I blinked, tried to speak, and failed several times in a row. Sensei’s grin never faded as I registered everything. I did, finally, say, “I didn’t know that.”

“I tend to keep that under wraps.” She turned back to drying, a little smile on her face. “Plus, I haven’t had much time to date recently. Been busy with you kids.”

I gave my head a little itch. Not like she was wrong, but, I kind of thought she’d maybe try. “Did you ever, like... have anyone?”

She actually froze. There was no twitching, no movement, nothing. It was like she was in a block of ice. My gut turned harshly; did I fuck something up? Just breathing was too much. I didn’t want to make her upset.

“I had someone.”

_ Had?  _ “What was her name?”

She smiled. There was something painful in that smile, something I couldn’t quite place. “Ame. Her name was Ame.” Sumire-sensei closed her eyes and... and set down the dish she was working on. “I’m sorry, please finish the dishes on your own, I’ll be out.”

I didn’t have the heart to chase her.

It began one morning, about three weeks into the mission. The other genin and I, sans Kasumi, were eating breakfast when Sensei and Kakashi joined us. Even still, no Kasumi.

“Seems Kasumi isn’t awake yet,” Hibiki mused around a nibble of rice.

Sensei sighed. “Sadly, she’s going to rest today. I probably pushed her a little too much.”

“It happens,” Kakashi mused. “We can just go visit the bridge as a group today.”

Naruto looked up from shoving rice into his mouth. “A group?”

“You know what group means, right, dobe?”

“Ey!”

I snorted. There was no worry for them; Sasuke’s tone was soft, teasing, gentle. It was the tone of a friend teasing someone they loved. I knew that tone very well. “We’re just going to go together for once instead of separating. That sounds nice.”

Sakura perked up. “Aoi-chan, can I show sensei my skills?”

Ah, she was very excited about her growing strength. Dancing wasn’t easy work, you know. Over the few weeks I had with her, Sakura was almost strong enough to stay on a  _ demipointe  _ for an entire day with no breaks. I was very impressed. 

“I suppose you can,” I mused. She giggled at me and I found myself victim to a grain of rice.

“No food fights,” Sensei scolded. “Finish up and we’ll get going.”

The bridge was beautiful. Steel gray stone stretched across the river, with the water beneath splashing up against the beams. There were plenty of people on it, smoothing out the rock or taking materials back to shore or just talking to each other. The kids weren’t super impressed, but hey, they were kids. Bridges aren’t as cool as ninja arts. At least the teachers were keeping an eye on them. It was blissfully peaceful. Around the middle of the bridge, Tazuna wiped his brow.

“There you are!” he called. “Well, what do you think? Isn’t it a beauty?”

I nodded. “You and your team did an amazing job here. And so fast too!”

His prideful grin was everything. “Having so many extra hands helped! Now we’re all done, and the bridge is beautiful, and Gato is going to regret being such a piece of work.”

Well, maybe he just was always chill about not cursing.

But there wasn’t much time to ruminate. As Kakashi came over to talk to Tazuna about final payments, paperwork, and Naruto and Sasuke demanding a spar from Hibiki, something... felt off. I can’t really explain the feeling, but... Everything felt strange. Like I wasn’t part of my body, but just watching from the sideline. I didn’t realize how little I could see through the mist rolling up onto the bridge.

It was almost too thick to see when I finally felt shoved back into my body. I’m glad I woke up when I did. From the opposite shoreline, two sillouettes drifted into view. One was massive, carrying a giant sword and dropping footsteps so heavy I feared the stone breaking. Beside him, a heavy chill rushed through the air. 

I knew in that moment what was going on.

“Zabuza!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a huge fan of this chapter, but things will be getting fun next time.
> 
> See y'all Oct 4th.


	8. Écarté

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Écarté: “Separated.” A position in which the dancer faces one of the two front corners of the room. The leg nearer the audience is pointed in the second position or raised to the second position in the air. With the arm on the same side as the extended leg raised, the dancer turns their head up toward it and looks into the palm of the hand. The other arm remains in demi-seconde position.

Chaos broke. The people on the bridge fled back to shore, terror in their eyes, some shouting and screaming. The workers threw away their tools, shouting for help. I barely stayed up on my feet as people ran by me. How did I forget this was going to happen? Of course Zabuza was going to attack us when the bridge was almost complete. Gato wanted Tazuna dead for daring to build this. What did I think would happen?

“Maa, didn’t think we’d see you again, Zabuza,” Kakashi called. “Last I saw you, that hunter of yours took you off for a beheading.”

Zabuza’s hulking form paused a couple meters down the bridge. The boy--I knew him to be Haku-- did as well. “Demons don’t die easily. You should know that, Copycat Kakashi.” His gaze slid over to my sensei and I heard him bark a laugh. “And apparently you’ve recruited the sweet poison of Hyobogakure!”

“Is that what they actually call me?” my sensei laughed. Her tone, however, was bitingly vicious. “If you know that about me, then I’d suggest you walk away while you still have your head.”

Zabuza snorted. “I have a job to do, Amamiya.”

‘ _ Sweet poison?’  _ Sumire-sensei had such a name? 

“Aoi!” Hibiki’s call broke me out of my trance. He was already halfway across the bridge, his jacket shifted back to reveal a bright silver sword handle. Naruto and Sasuke were right by him, kunais out at the ready. I burst into a sprint after him.

_ Shit,  _ I realized as I bolted. This was the start of the fight that killed Haku and Zabuza, as well as revealed Naruto as the nine-tails. This would be a pivotal fight if I wanted to change anything. I couldn’t afford to stop or hesitate! I needed to get the boys away from the bridge, away from Zabuza and Haku. That would--

Three spires of ice bloomed out of the mist in front of me, cracking like enormous fireworks. I desperately skidded to a halt, stopping almost totally pressed to one. The pain in my skull was so much, whiting out my vision, throbbing and aching from the sudden noise. Both of my hands clamped to my head, trying to shut the noise down. Behind the spires, Hibiki hollered something, but my ears were ringing too loud. Shit!

As my vision came back, I turned, hoping to assess what was happening. So much ran through my skull in that moment. My eyes could barely process everything happening. Haku charged me, a single hand up, holding this jutsu in front of me. Sensei and Kakashi almost moved in slow motion, compared to the hulking form of Zabuza--

_ Charging me. _

“Trying to run?!”

My heart leapt into my throat. That sword, his  _ kubikiribocho,  _ was aimed right at me. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. Time stood still.

“Aoi! Drop!” Sensei screamed. 

Sensei’s voice, sharp and strong, broke my panicking brain’s shields. I dropped into a squat. 

“You can’t hide!” The sword swung above me, prepared to cleave me in half. I braced myself for the pain to come, the pain of bleeding out, of dying...

But then I heard something else.

“Hibiki!”

“ _ METAL RELEASE!” _

The swishing sound of rapid turning made me blink my eyes open. I watched, awed, as Hibiki’s sword handle landed and bounced once. The collar end pointed up, almost like it was commanded to...

“ _ Quicksilver Blade!” _

And in a brilliant silver flash, he was there. Hibiki stood above me, legs set in a wide stance, sword in hand, and holding Zabuza back with a shining blade.

“My lady is not your target,” he informed him, eyes burning holes into him.

“Hibiki?!”

I could only stare. That handle... didn’t have a blade. Where did that blade come from? And he held Zabuza’s sword so easily, just holding it above him, one hand on the handle and the other flat on his palm. I could see Zabuza’s sword sink more, to try to break through, but no dice. Hibiki pushed, and both the missing nin and his sword fell back.

When Hibiki swung his blade down, my breath caught in my throat. The blade wasn’t just any metal; it was completely liquid, and chakra pulsed inside it, too, holding it together. The warmth radiating off it felt just like Hibiki’s hands on my shoulders when he instructed me, or when I practiced fighting, or anything that made us close.

This... this was his kekkai genkai. This was  _ his  _ metal release.

A hard laugh caught my attention. Zabuza’s expression was... strange, as he observed my teammate. “Well, well, well. A Hyobogakure swordsman wielding the infamous metal release. Now that’s rare.”

Hibiki brought his sword forward again, eyes hard on Zabuza.

“No words for me? Very well. Show me what you’ve got.”

Before he swung again, a pair of arms wrapped around me. I yelped in shock but got a glove over my mouth. In that same moment, the ice behind me cracked violently and shattered. Flames and fire started licking up my back in that same instant but, before they could hit me, I was whisked away and--

“Aoi, are you alright?” Sensei kneeled beside me. Suddenly I was beside her, and Kakashi let go of me. I hiccuped and held down an urge to retch. Teleporting isn’t easy on the stomach. Nevertheless, I seized myself up and looked back out over the fight, wondering--

“Hey! Sensei!” Naruto waved an excited arm at me. Sasuke was spitting the remains of flames as they stepped over the shards of ice surrounding them. He must have used his fire breathing jutsu thing to break it all. Relief and worry washed over me in a confusing wave.

Sensei’s hand on my head steadied me again. “Aoi,” she whispered, “get to Sakura and Tazuna. Make sure they both stay safe.”

Sakura and Tazuna. My eyes flitted towards the other end of the bridge and found them. The young girl looked scared but determined to protect the man behind her. Sensei didn’t need to tell me twice. I turned their way, rushing to Sakura’s side on soft feet.

“Aoi-senpai!” she gasped.

“You two okay?” I hurriedly asked once I could slide to their sides.

Tazuna nodded.

But Sakura spoke up, “Aoi-senpai, something’s odd.”

Huh? “What do you mean, sweetpea?”

She looked to the other end of the bridge, the one leading to the roads out of the Waves. “I, I can’t put my finger on it, but... the forest feels weird. Like there’s too much energy coming from it.”

That was a surprise. She could sense that? I looked up into the woods, wondering if I could, too... but I didn’t need to. There was a tiny movement, something unnatural, and I knew this was bad.

Gato sent people with Zabuza and Haku.

“Watch the woods,” I instructed softly. “Don’t act like you see anything, pretend you’re scared. I’ll stay at the front. If you see eyes, call me Aohime-sama. Got it?”

She nodded so fast I worried she’d break her neck. We switched positions, her at Tazuna’s back and seized up like a scared child. Which, she was. But this gave me a good look at everything around me, from Hibiki using his sword to shove Zabuza a solid two meters across the bridge to Sumire-sensei and Kakashi putting  _ something  _ on either side of the bridge to--

_ Haku. _

His mask was turned my way, still in his curiosity. Maybe, he could just be deciding if he wanted to kill me. Did... did he see something odd in me? He might, I had a faint suspicion he was from the Hanayuki family. Or what was his issue? I couldn’t figure it out in the few moments I had to look. There was enough chaos happening in front of me. 

Zabuza was busy with Hibiki, who gulped down air in heavy breaths. Sword fighting against such a massive broadsword with his katane must have been draining him fast. The two broke from locking blades, Zabuza stepping back for just a moment to look at my worn out friend.

Hibiki looked a mess. Eyes watering, sweating, and his jacket was sliced all over. Did Haku send out needles when I wasn’t looking? His hair was out of the braid too, now a shiny mess across his body. His sword wasn’t in any better a position; the silvery light was dimming fast on the blade. 

“You don’t use that blade of yours enough,” Zabuza scolded. “It’s already running out of chakra.”

Hibiki let out a laugh, and the light reignited on the blade for a moment. “I only need it long enough to protect my lady and complete my mission, Momochi Zabuza.”

“And what, exactly, is your mission?”

A smile and a pointed canine peeked out of Hibiki’s mouth. “To protect everyone on this bridge and then some.”

Zabuza paused, then chuckled. I did not like that sound at all. I shifted my stance a little more, ready to get in his way if I had to. “Your precious bridge builder is still here.”

_ Oh no. _

The air shifted, cold rushing around me. It wasn’t the cold I felt when I used my ice release; it belonged to someone else, someone with a sharp edge of cruelty. My eyes shifted back to Haku, and froze. He was making one handed hand signs, fervently, with a speed I didn’t have yet.

“Sensei!”

Sakura’s scream made me turn again. Waves, giant ones, crashed up and over the bridge. A pit fell in my gut. I didn’t know anything about a giant wave jutsu! But it’s what the waves were doing that scared me.

They crashed, specifically, on Kakashi and Sumire-sensei. They dodged and ducked as they could, but the mist building on the bridge cut their sight. I shifted closer to Tazuna, pulling a kunai from my pouch and throwing it at Haku.

Should have known he’d block it with his needles, and he didn’t even stop signing.

Zabuza’s chuckle echoed across the bridge. “Now, I enjoyed our spar, but I have my own mission.”

“And what, exactly, is your mission?”

He raised his hand in front of him as the mist around us deepened. “Dealing with your bridge builder,"  the missing nin informed him and vanished.

The next few events happened so quickly, I’m amazed I can remember them all. Those crashing waves caught both of the jounins, suddenly twisting into a water spout around them. My breath chilled as the air did as well. From my distance, I could see Naruto and Sasuke... and the building water mirrors around them. I wanted to shout to them, to run, to  _ get away for God’s sake-- _

“AOHIME-SAMA!”

Zabuza, in the moments I could have, appeared behind us, sword at the ready. Of course he was going after Tazuna, he was his mission! 

I had to act fast. 

“Sakura, to the left!” I seized Tazuna’s shirt front, doing my best to ignore his squawk at me. As Sakura dodged left, I threw him to her, mentally apologizing for the rough treatment. But it was enough to save them both. Zabuza’s sword swung hard into the bridge and I jumped back, skidding on the ice building outside of Haku’s ice prison.

Hibiki gasped. “What are you doing, Aoi?!”

“Hurry to Sakura and Tazuna,” I replied, “and apologize for me, would you?”

The conflict on his face made me even reconsider what I planned on doing. But I had to give everyone some time, protect everyone. Hibiki nodded then, and while Zabuza pulled his sword up, he rushed the bridge builder and my sweetpea.

Now, now I could only face Zabuza.  _ Shit.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOO now we getting into some of the good stuff (seriously though fight scenes are not easy)
> 
> See y'all October 18th


	9. Variation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Variation: A solo in classical ballet.

Zabuza was... big. Bigger than I anticipated. Even though there was some distance between us, he towered over me, sword in hand, murder and business in his eyes. He was pure strength in a human body. No wonder he was considered a demon to Kiri. Someone like me, a relatively untrained ninja, wouldn’t stand a chance against him.

I needed to get away, I knew that... But he had Sumire-sensei and Kakashi trapped. Haku had Naruto and Sasuke in his ice prison. I had to get them out of there before Sasuke got hurt, before Naruto went wild. Running was not an option here. There were too many lives at stake here. There was too much riding on this mission. I couldn’t just  _ run! _

“Aohime,” Zabuza hummed, sounding pleased with himself. “I’ve heard of you, you know.”

I gulped.

“The princess of the Hanayuki clan. The beloved, spoiled princess who tried to be a ninja but can’t even use her own chakra.” In the mist, I could hear his voice smile. “I’m amazed they let you out of your gilded cage long enough to come all the way out here.”

I kept my eyes firm on him. No, do not lose focus. Don’t listen to him. Don’t get angry. Stay calm!

“Part of me feels bad about killing you... but catching and ransoming you to a clan who would rather you be dead would be too much a hassle.”

_ Rather I be dead?  _ I couldn’t help my sudden mental screech. I knew Aohime--the old one--was spoiled rotten since she was engaged to the head’s son but... did they really not want me? Was I a nuisance?

Wait, stop. He’s trying to instigate me.  _ Don’t say anything! _

“Nothing to say to that, princess? Or are you trying to gracefully accept your death?”

My stomach rolled. Was he enjoying this? Making me feel this way? Like I was about to die? Was my silence just letting him be?

Did me taking over this body even  _ mean  _ anything?

“I’ll even be nice,” he mused, letting his sword drop on the bridge with a thud. “Go ahead and take a few seconds to say goodbye to life, and I’ll make your death nice and painless.”

_ Maybe if I died quickly, then I could go home-- _

No.

No, I came here for some weird reason. There was a purpose for me. Who cared if my clan didn’t like Aohime? Or if Kasumi thought I was a thorn in her side? I was not her, not anymore. Maybe I was weak, but that didn’t matter. I don’t need them to respect me.

_ I respect me. _

As quickly as I could, I kicked off my ninja shoes. The fog around me was too much, too big. But I could make it smaller, something I could handle. I went demi-pointe, raised my hands in front of me, and let my chakra flow.

“Ah, you’re going to fight. What an honorable way to die.”

Then, then I spoke. “Yes, it would be honorable.”

“Aoi!” Sakura’s voice broke through the fog.

The air around me swung down around his blade.

“Aoi, you moron, run!” Hibiki’s panic burned my skin.

I felt where the blade was long before it struck. Lithely, I sidestepped and watched it slam uselessly into the concrete under my feet. For a moment the fog cleared, revealing a shocked Zabuza hanging onto his sword. Good thing I stepped as quickly as I did; there was now a sword lodge halfway into the bridge.

“Too bad I don’t intend to die here.”

“How,” he whispered, “how?”

I breathed in the mist. Chakra flowed through my body, into my hands and feet, and I began my first dance.

_ Pirouette. Pirouette. Pirouette.  _ I knew this turn, this quick turn. The movement was so familiar yet foreign, like a friend whose face I had forgotten. How long had it been since I twirled so effortlessly? Moved with such lazy determination? Faintly, I promised myself more dances, slippers, freedom. 

But my goal was Haku’s ice prison. Once I stood before it, I went to my flat feet. This needed my full energy. One hand rested on the ice mirror before me, the other holding my chakra to my chest.

_ Breathe in, breathe out.  _

“Ice release!”

That cold sensation I had played with ran up into my arms and through my fingers, right into the ice before me. I knew what I wanted it to do, what it should do. My chakra sang from my gut through me, deep into the ice mirrors before me.

_ “Ice Release! Frozen Swan Lake!” _

I ripped my hand away and felt more than saw the ice gather from each of the mirrors and wrap around my hand. It didn’t stay long, since there was so much. Quickly, I turned and held  _ arabesque a demi hauteur,  _ left foot lifted behind me and straight with my frozen hand out. The ice ran from its mirror origin out to the bridge, quickly spreading from my feet outwards. Cold spread around me. Zabuza’s mist froze quickly, turning into tiny flecks of ice and snow. 

But there was something strange about this cold, this snow. Haku’s ice release was biting, freezing, ate at your insides and spat them on the ground. My cold felt... softer, in a way. It drew up thoughts of catching snowflakes on gloves, of snow angels and snowball fights, of my first dance as the Sugar Plum Fairy. Was it because it was mine?

_ “ _ Wow!” I heard Sakura gasp. Behind her, Tazuna held out his hand and caught the snow as it fell. “Where did all this snow come from?”

I smiled. Oh, she was darling.

“What?” Behind me, Naruto and Sasuke stood up, confusion written on their faces. No one was injured yet, thank goodness. Haku resurfaced, too, looking around the bridge in confusion. Well, what I assumed was confusion.

“Where... Where did my mirrors go?”

“What, can’t you tell?” I teased. “They’re everywhere.” I think it took him a few minutes to fully register everything, because he finally got back to me. I wish I could have seen his expression, but I knew his eyes were focused on me.

Zabuza stared too, with no awe for what he was witnessing. “You... The Ice Release? How?!”

Once more, I grinned. Oh, silly fool.

“Aoi!” Sumire-sensei’s voice echoed from the tornado of water holding her and Kakashi. Except it wasn’t water anymore. My ice swallowed the tornado whole, keeping it still and steady. That, that I didn’t expect at all.

“Sensei! Break it!” She didn’t need to be told twice. Ice shattered behind me, and both Jounins were freed. 

Zabuza quickly decided he didn’t care how, but I had screwed up his mist technique. There was hell to pay. He easily dislodged his sword from the concrete and came at me at full speed. Well, as quickly as full speed he could do. The ice surrounding him had his feet slipping slightly.

I wanted to face him head on. I pushed myself to demi-pointe and began a series of  _ chasse  _ steps at him. This would not be his victory, nor would this be my only incredible trick. Zabuza needed to be taken down easily.

_Chasse, chasse, chasse,_ right in front of his charging form. I remember my teacher telling me how my back foot should chase my front, landing in the spot left by the latter. It brought us close again, ready to strike. Zabuza raised his sword high above his head, ready to slice me through. I focused on the blade, on the rise and downfall, and lept. As it crashed once more into the bridge, I landed with one foot on the sharp edge. I landed an excellent _sissone_ step. My right sole sank onto the blade and bled, but I didn’t care. That would be dealt with later. Instead, my raised foot swung from behind me-

“ _ Ronde de Jambe!” _

_ And kicked Zabuza in the jaw. _

He didn’t shout; that, I expected, since he was a famous missing nin. What I didn’t expect was him staggering back and holding his jaw carefully. Blood from my kick soaked the mask under his nose. Rage filled his eyes once he was able to look back up at me, still perched atop his blade.

“I suggest you stand down and listen, before more happens,” I informed him.

I’m sure he had words, but before he spoke, I heard a sickening crunch. Did he just realign his own jaw? “What the hell fighting style is that?” he hissed under his mask. “Using the Ice Release,  _ dancing  _ around hits and moving like that...”

Hm. I didn’t have a name for it, did I? “Not quite sure yet. But it’s a style that’s all me.”

“You can’t be the spoiled Blue Princess,” he insisted. “Who are you?”

Well. How can I resist some dramatics? I stepped off the blade with my good, uncut foot onto the ice. The other bled profusely, but it was beginning to crust over from my chakra flowing; I could bandage that later.

“Remember me well, Momochi Zabuza, Demon of the Hidden Mist,” I informed him. “I am Hanayuki Aoi, Princess of the Hanayuki Clan, Dancer Upon the Snow, and Wielder of the Ice Release. Do not underestimate me.”

Zabuza snorted at me. “What kind of titles are those last two?”

I shrugged. “I dunno. Just made them up.”

There was a beat. Then another. Finally, a loud sigh caught my attention. Hibiki held his face in his hand, the other holding his sword at his hip. “Aoi,” he groaned, “that isn’t how it works.”

“Why not?”

“You don’t decide what your titles are.”

I made a face, and hopefully he could tell how very unamused I was. “Wait. I have to let other people decide on that?”

Sensei snorted and covered her mouth. "Did you think nicknames were just picked out?"

"Well, I kinda thought so! They always sound so cool!"

"You have to do cool things to earn a cool title!"

"I can pick my own damn title!"

Something must have snapped in Zabuza's head as we spoke. He roared, first unintelligible and loud as a freight train, but as we silenced he shouted, "Shut your fucking mouths! Haku!"

The masked boy glanced at his teacher. Faintly, I could see confusion and shock flash across Naruto's baby face. Oh, right. Didn't he meet Haku during these weeks?

"Don't let your prey get away! Kill them all!"

_ Fuck! _

Haku turned to Sasuke and Naruto again. The air bit at my arms, chills rushing over. It grew sharper, thinning like tiny needles at some places, squaring at others, turning and pointing--

“No!”

I knew this part. I knew if Haku landed his attack, if he needled Sasuke’s body, Naruto would freak out, screaming, breaking the Nine-tails out. That couldn’t happen. I didn’t want Sasuke to get hurt! I didn’t want Naruto to break! I had to protect them, save both of them!

Wait, an ice clone! I could only move so fast, forcing my chakra through me, trying to prepare my clone as fast as I could, even while I felt the needles move again. Time, I needed time! But time wasn’t allowed for me. The mirrors went up around Sasuke, Haku vanished again, and I knew I couldn’t afford a second of hesitation. 

“Teme!” Naruto shouted.

“Don’t move!” Zabuza hollered. I barely registered what happened behind me; I think Kakashi summoned his dogs, from their sudden barking, but I had other things to focus on.

Something... moved, then, in me. I ran ahead, focused on the kids in front of me. The mirrors surrounding Sasuke had enough gaps for me to slip in. Terror and shock painted his face as I called his name. Haku’s needles sharpened in the air and I knew I was out of time.

I just did what I could.

I wrapped Sasuke in my arms, curling him under me and shielding him. He was so small...

“I got you,” I recall whispering.

And every needle in the air was jammed into my skin. I gasped, mostly from the biting cold of them. I shivered, quivered, as they kept coming, a barrage of frozen needles. I thought to count them; my mind was too muddled to consider that. I squeezed the boy in my arms, praying there wasn’t blood, that there wasn’t a mess on him. 

It stopped as suddenly as it began. I let out the breath I was holding and groaned. Everything in me felt frozen. A million little pinpricks covered my back, lodged in securely. I loosed my hold on Sasuke, looking at the stunned, horrified boy under me.

“Hanayuki-san...”

I smiled. “I said I got you, didn’t I?”

“Aoi!” Sensei called to me. “Swap back! Swap back now!”

And then, then I shattered.

__

_ That frozen lake again. Everything was so much clearer now, though. The conifer trees covered in snow, the faint fall of snow, the mint-cold taste in my mouth. I breathed in, then out. _

_ “Idiot girl,” a voice scolded me. “Your consciousness is more valuable than your body. Don’t damage your mind, you little fool.” _

_ I blinked up into the clear sky. “I don’t see you.” _

_ “Because you haven’t given me form yet. You owe me one.” _

_ I reached up. Something slid around my hand... _

_ “Don’t forget. You owe me a body when we meet.” _

__

I heaved a frozen breath, shaking back into myself. Christ, I felt like my insides were full of frozen taco meat. Gentle arms around me squeezed. It was so warm, I leaned into it. So warm and soft...

“I feel her breathing.” Kakashi?

“There she is,” Sensei’s voice whispered. I blinked, forcing my eyes to see properly again, and there she was, kneeling in front of me. Hibiki was behind her, eyes wide and shiny. The horror on his face made me wonder exactly where I was again.

“Sensei?”

“You, my dear,” she sighed, “are an absolute idiot sometimes.” There was no bite to her words, by the way her hand cupped my cheek.

“Whu happen.” Wow, those words sounded significantly better in my head.

“A mistake only rookies make. You made your ice clone and had your chakra still directly in contact with it.”

That... wasn’t sensei or Kakashi. I blinked again, drifting my gaze upwards. Zabuza stood to the side, arms crossed and looking down at me. His sword was sheathed and he had a myriad of bite marks on his body. Kakashi’s ninja dogs must have done all of that. Kakashi’s arms squeezed tighter around me.

“Zabun?”

Zabuza!

I jolted up, eyes wide. Sensei’s hand steadied me as I locked eyes with Zabuza. “Zabuza!”

“You’re an idiot kid,” he snarked.

“Yes yes, I know, I’m a fucking dumbass, but listen, please!”

Confusion and I think irritation bubbled up. “...I’ll give you thirty seconds.”

Okay, can do. Maybe.

“I know you’re working with Gato and have goals to kill the Mizukage and that’s fine but you need to go back to Kiri, there’s a rebellion group there, they’re with Mei, please, you need to believe--”

He held up a hand. I quieted, then briefly wondered if my words slurred too much for him to understand. I heard a faint growl beside me; did Kakashi keep his ninja dogs out? I wanted to reach out and touch it, but my arms felt like rubber still.

“Alright, let's say I believe you,” Zabuza asked. “Why are you so intent on trying to help me?”

He had a point. I really shouldn’t have any reason to say anything about Mei, or try to stop him from being a missing nin, or anything aside from killing him. But... “Because missing nin don’t last long,” I replied, “and you want something I kind of want too.”

“Aoi!” Sumire-sensei gasped.

“It’s true, Sensei,” I replied. “If I go back and the Mizukage finds out someone capable of the Ice Release lived, he’ll have me killed. Hibiki too, since he used his own kekkai genkai. I don’t want to die too soon.” I coughed and it felt like pieces of my insides were going to come out. A gentle hand ran over my head as I shivered. I still felt like frozen meat inside, and I just wanted to be warm again. 

“Why?” I carefully turned my head to Haku. His mask was off, and the pain in his face made my heart ache. “Why did you jump into my mirrors?”

That was an obvious question. “Because you were attacking Sasuke and he needed help.”

He shook his head. “No, that isn’t the question. Why did you save him? He isn’t of your clan, or even of your village. He should just be no one to you. Why?”

I frowned a little. Again, a point. My entire body ached, I felt like I almost died, and it was for a preteen boy I’ve only known a few weeks. He certainly had reason to wonder what the hell was happening in my mind.

“Because he needed some help. That’s the kind of ninja I want to be.”

Somehow, that... made the moment a little softer. Zabuza blinked with wide eyes, like he had never seen me alive before. Haku opened his mouth in a little ‘o’ shape.

“What... do you mean?”

I smiled, then winced. “I want to be a ninja that people can depend on when they’re scared. Someone who sees a fire and goes ‘that’s frightening’ but still runs into it.” 

Hibiki groaned. “Are you trying to kill yourself?”

“Nah, not if I’m strong enough.”

Zabuza’s sharp eyes and voice broke in again. “Even if they’re not from your village?”

“Well... yeah. It’s the right thing to do. He’s just a kid.”

“Still a ninja.”

“Yeah, I get that. But if I can be of help, I want to help.”

We stared at each other, his confusion evident in his hard eyes. I hurt all over, cold as hell, and didn’t know what he’d do, but... Maybe I could give him something to bite on? A chance to fulfill his dream? And it would be for Haku too...

Finally, I heard him sigh and he, too, dropped to his own crouch. I blinked, confused as all hell, but watched as he looked up again. His eyes... something was different. It was softer, somehow.

“Helping people, huh,” he sighed. “Ninjas don’t do that anymore.”

“Doesn’t mean we can’t start doing it again.”

He chuckled. It was short, small, tiny as sin, but he did it. Haku’s solid face cracked too, from how his brows jolted up. I wanted to react more, but I could only whine at my soreness and the pain in my foot. 

“Can’t remember the last time someone managed to convince me so well,” he mentioned, “while laid out on their back.”

“Thanks,” I grunted.

He grinned, ear to ear, under his mask. “You want me to help Mei, huh. I can oblige.”

I smiled, ear to ear, back at him. “Yay.”

Behind me, Sakura gasped. I went to sit up, but Sensei stood instead. She had been so quiet through everything, I wondered what she was thinking of all of this. She walked towards Tazuna and Sakura, still against the side of the bridge, leaving me with Hibiki’s confused expression and Zabuza rising up too. 

“Aoi-sama...”

“Shh,” Kakashi insisted. “Go keep the boys safe.” My teammate scowled at him, but nevertheless, he hurried over to Naruto and Sasuke. They were still further back on the bridge, where I jumped in front of the assault. Faintly, I wondered how long I had been unconscious from... that chakra thing.

But was it? I felt everything. I saw everything. It was like my mind was part of my clone. I didn’t think that was part of the whole shadow clone thing... What was that about?

“You really scared us,” Kakashi informed me. “Don’t pull that stunt again.”

I chuckled deep in my chest. “Maybe I should, just to make you mad.”

That earned me a pinch to the thigh. I yelped and swatted at his hand, but got nothing from it. Instead, I slouched and nestled in, hoping to warm up.

“Thank you.”

“Hmm?” I glanced up at him.

“For protecting Sasuke,” he clarified. “I doubt the needles would have killed him, but... knowing you decided to save him meant a lot.”

Aw. I reached a shivering arm up to poke a clothed cheek. I didn’t intend to say he was welcome for the rescue, because it wasn’t a favor. It was the right thing to do. “I hope he remembers what it meant to him, when he gets the chance to help someone too.”

He nodded. Kakashi looked up then, probably at my returning sensei and Sakura. I expected him to call Hibiki back over, to have him carry me, but instead he went under my knees with one arm and the other around me and lifted. I gasped and suddenly felt like a bright red tomato. 

“Princess carrying the lady, huh?” Zabuza snorted.

“Be quiet,” Kakashi snarked back. 

Sensei came back, with Tazuna and Sakura in tow. The bridge builder had both of his hands gripped in tight fists, anger building in his face.

“The mercenaries they had in the forest are gone,” Sumire-sensei informed us. “I’d gamble they’ll be back soon, with extra help.”

“Probably with Gato too,” Zabuza agreed. “He sent them along to destroy the bridge after Tazuna was killed. Now that he’s lost me, he’ll be pissed.”

Sakura gripped her hands nervously. “What do we do now?”

Kakashi’s face hardened. “We hunker down and be ready for what comes next.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus we finish a fight and prepare for the next arc! There will be one small chapter before the end, but it'll mostly close everything out here.
> 
> As for November... I'll be using NaNoWriMo to write out a LOT more chapters! I don't expect the full 50k, since I'm starting a new full time job, but there will be lots written!
> 
> See y'all November 1st


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